


Untamed Hearts

by Larry_Darling0124



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Arranged Marriage, Endgame Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Hate to Love, Liam and Niall are brothers, Lilo is temporary, M/M, Prince Louis, Princess Diaries inspired, Royal Harry, Royal Louis, Royal Zayn, Zouis is temporary, heavily inspired by Princess Diaries 1 & 2, larry stylinson - Freeform, non-royal liam, non-royal niall, nouis friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2018-12-31 02:21:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12122442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larry_Darling0124/pseuds/Larry_Darling0124
Summary: Louis finds out he's a Prince and on top of that, someone is trying to steal his crown. As he prepares to take the throne.. he faces negative public opinion, little support from parliament, and - as if it can't get any worse - he has to get married or else he loses the crown. And through it all, he finds love in a very unexpected place..





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ: I followed the story-line of Princess Diaries 1 & 2 closely... So for the first 5 chapters of this book Harry will not be in the story. Basically Louis is Mia, Liam is Michael, Zayn is Andrew, Harry is Nicholas, and Niall is Lilly. So in order for it to be Larry endgame I couldn't put Harry in until a certain time!
> 
> If you haven't ever seen the movies I recommend you do, they're 2 of my favorite movies ever! I just decided to do a Larry version of it cuz I thought it'd be a good and you guys might enjoy it and I just love the movies. No copyright intended :)
> 
> I also have this posted on my Wattpad :)  
> Enjoy!

"Louis! Louis William Tomlinson! You need to get up or you'll be late for school!" Louis heard his mom, Jay, call up to him.

Groaning, Louis shifted under his covers and slowly sat up in bed, feeling something pressed against his leg.

"Come on Mittens, time to get up." Louis said, reaching down to stroke the grey and white cat's ears.

Mittens gave Louis a small meow then stretched before jumping off the bed and heading downstairs for breakfast. Louis drug himself out of bed and pulled on his school uniform - tan pants, a light blue shirt, a striped tie, and a navy blue blazer with the school crest. He slipped on his white converse, shoved his glasses on his face, then proceeded into the bathroom to finish his morning routine. With his breath minty fresh, he headed down into the living room, not bothering with his hair... nothing would ever tame the stupid frizzy, semi-curly topia that was his hair.

"Morning mom." He greeted, walking over to kiss her cheek.

"Morning dear, you'll be late if you don't hurry." She replied, sipping her coffee and pushing a plate of pancakes towards him.

Sitting down he ate the pancakes after drizzling maple syrup on them, sharing a couple bites with Mittens when the feline wondered over and pawed gently at his leg. Once he was finished, he put his plate in the sink then grabbed up his school bag and scooter. Calling goodbye over his shoulder, he headed out to school and was joined by his best friend, Niall, about halfway there. Niall had been his best friend pretty much his entire life.

"Morning Louis!" Niall greeted as Louis stopped in front of him.

"Morning Niall, where's Liam?" Louis questioned, not seeing Niall's year older step brother.

"Already at school, the little ass kisser." Niall muttered, but you could hear the love in his voice.

Louis knew Niall loved Liam like he was his real brother, his mom and Liam's dad had been married for the past ten years.

Chuckling, they continued on their way to school in silence. When they arrived they parted ways and headed off to their first classes. During lunch, Louis found himself sitting outside on the wall near the cafeteria when he felt a ball hit the back of his head.

"Ow." He muttered, rubbing the spot and looking up to see four of the football players laughing.

"Sorry, didn't see you there frizz ball!" The leader of the group laughed then walked away with the others.

Rolling his eyes, Louis picked up his stuff and headed to his locker where Niall was already waiting for him.

"Hey, how's your day been so far?" Niall questioned with a smile, pushing a couple books into his locker.

"Absolutely shit. I got hit in the head with a ball... again." Louis grumbled, putting his own books away and pulling out the next set he needed.

"I'm sorry Lou..." Niall sighed, a frowned etched on his face. "Uh-oh... dumb and dumber alert."

Turning around, Louis' eyes landed on Taylor Adams, the school's head cheerleader, and Justin Porter, the school's football captain, making out for all to see. He felt his insides tighten at the sight. He was in a daydream within a matter of seconds, imagining what it would feel like to have Justin's lips against his and his tongue massaging his own. Oh... had he not mentioned this? Well, Louis was very much gay and happened to have a massive crush on Justin.

Justin Porter was the hottest guy in school and like all the others, didn't acknowledge Louis' existence unless he was making fun of him.

"Louis!" Niall called, snapping his fingers in front of his friend.

"Huh? What?" Louis replied, snapping back into reality.

"You went all spacey on me... you're not going all snotty prep on me are you?" He asked, shutting Louis' locker for him.

"What? No!" Louis answered, giving Niall a disbelieving look. "I don't want to be one of them."

"Good. We couldn't have that! You're original, I like it." Niall laughed as they headed towards their next class, which they happened to have together.

Louis felt his stomach knot up when he realized he was going to have to give a speech in this class. He was absolutely horrible at public speaking. It terrified him, which really sucked because he had always wanted to be a singer. So because of his fear he was stuck singing at home.

Class was almost over when his name was called. Niall patted him on the back as he got up and others in the classroom were already snickering.

"Louis, please come up and present your work." Mr. Deakin requested when Louis hesitated.

Slowly, Louis made his way up to the front, his paper clutched in his hand. He could hear some of the other students whispering, talking about him and laughing. Mr. Deakin gave him an encouraging smile which didn't help in the least bit.

"I..." Louis choked out and heard more snickering in response.

"Please class, don't be rude. Continue Louis." Mr. Deakin spoke from his desk.

"I um..." Louis looked down at his paper, words all blurring together.

His stomach twisted and immediately he felt his lunch coming back up.

"Oh my gosh, he looks like he's gonna throw up!" One of the girls gasped and the popular kids roared with laughter.

Louis ran to the back of the classroom and emptied his stomach into the trash can while Niall got up to pat his back.

"Ew!"

"Gross!"

"What a loser!"

"Class dismissed!" Mr. Deakin announced, standing up. "Louis, a word please."

Everyone cleared out of the classroom and Louis waved Niall off when the blonde offered to stay. They agreed to meet by their lockers if there was time before the next class and then Niall left.

"Are you alright Louis?" Mr. Deakin questioned, looking genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, just didn't feel so good." Louis replied, wanting nothing more than to go home and brush his teeth.

Mr. Deakin sighed, "Alright then, just give me your work and you can go."

Louis handed over his paper and hurried out of the room. Soon enough school was over and he was hurrying home, not even waiting for Niall - just wanting to get away from everyone before anyone else could make fun of him.

-_-

"You actually threw up?" Jay questioned from where she was stood cleaning dishes from their dinner.

"Yup." Louis replied as he put away the plates he had dried.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I'll talk to Mr. Deakin and get it all straightened out." She smiled sympathetically.

Nodding his head, Louis continued drying but made no comment. His cheeks were threatening to flame up with embarrassment. He was fifteen years old and his mom was having to go to the school to talk to his teacher because he was scared of speaking in front of people.

"I received a call from your grandfather this morning." Jay suddenly spoke again and Louis nearly dropped the dish he was drying.

"You're joking?" He inquired and she shook her head. "What did he want?"

"He's in town and wanted to meet with you for tea." She answered with a small shrug.

Louis laughed loudly, setting down the dish he was holding.

"He flew all the way here from Europe to have tea with the grandson he never had anything to do with?" Louis questioned in pure disbelief, he'd never even met his grandfather.

Jay chuckled and shrugged again, "I don't question the things he does, just go see what he wants. Okay?"

"Alright, but only because you want me to." Louis smiled, agreeing easily to his mother's request.

"That's my boy. Here's the address, go there after school." She said, drying her hands then handing him a piece of paper.

When they were finished cleaning up the kitchen, Louis headed upstairs and took a took shower before flopping onto his bed with Mittens. He stroked the small cats head and sighed heavily.

"What do you think girl? Should I be polite to this man that's had nothing to do with me my entire life or should I just be like what do you want?" He questioned Mittens as the feline stared up at him with big green eyes.

She meowed and pressed her head into Louis' hand, looking at him upside down now, making Louis laugh.

"I suppose you're right. I should go with the first option." He sighed, letting his head fall back on his pillow. "It's gonna be so weird."

He spent the rest of the evening completing his homework and texting Niall. Eventually he drifted off to sleep with Mittens curled up by his head, already dreading the next day.

-_-

"So, my grandfather is in town." Louis told Niall as they stood at their lockers the next morning.

"The one from Europe?" Niall questioned, pulling out his books.

"That's the one. He wants to have tea with me after school." Louis stated, making his voice sound posh and Niall's eyebrows shot up. "My thoughts exactly."

"What the hell? He just like appears out of nowhere and wants you to have tea with him?" Niall responded, gesturing semi-wildly with his hands.

"Pretty much, the only reason I'm going is because my mom wants me to." Louis said, closing his locker.

"You are such a momma's boy." Niall shook his head and patted Louis' shoulder.

"Shut up." Louis mumbled, hitting the blonde lightly on the arm.

"Hey, no beating up my brother!" Liam called from behind them, making both jump.

"Geez Liam! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Louis pouted, tossing his bag onto his shoulder.

"Sorry." Liam apologized wholeheartedly. "Are you coming by the shop later?"

"Can't today, I have to go to my grandfather's. I'll come by tomorrow though for sure." Louis promised, shaking his head sadly.

As a present for his sixteenth birthday, which was coming up, Jay had purchased him a 1968 Mustang. The thing was... it didn't run. That had been where Liam had come in. He worked at an auto repair shop in the heart of San Francisco and they had been happy to take on the project.

"Okay, well have fun, I'll see you tomorrow." Liam smiled and waved as he walked away.

Louis watched as Liam walked away, greeting people as he went. Liam was rather cute....

"AYE!" Niall exclaimed, giving Louis' hair a sharp tug. "Quit checking out my brother and let's go or we'll be late."

Louis blushed as the accusation, "I was not checking him out."

Niall laughed and shook his head before pulling him off towards their class. After school, Louis found himself walking down the sidewalk of a road he had only seen when riding by. All of the homes were gated and enormous, much different from the converted fire station he lived in.

Looking at the address once more, he came to a stop in front of a dark iron gate that had the very numbers he was looking for hanging on one of the columns flanking the gate. The house beyond the gate appeared even bigger than all of the others on the street. Reaching out, he pressed the button to the intercom and waited.

"State your business." A voice spoke.

"I'm uh here to see my grandfather." Louis answered, pressing the little button to talk back.

"Name?" The voice requested.

"Louis Tomlinson." Louis replied and suddenly the gates began to open.

He slipped in through them and immediately they closed behind him. Taking a deep breath he walked up to the front door and before he had a chance to knock, a man dressed in a tailored tux with white gloves on opened the door.

"Hello Mister Tomlinson." The man greeted, stepping aside for him to enter.

Another man dressed in a tux stepped up and began feeling Louis' school bag while the young boy watched over his shoulder in confusion. When the second man gave the first a curt nod, the first man motioned for Louis to come over to the living area and have a seat.

"Please make yourself comfortable." He said gesturing to the sofa.

Louis pulled his bag off and dropped it down beside him as he sat down. He looked around the room as he waited, the place was fancy. Looking over at the large staircase when he heard heels against the marble floor he saw a blonde woman walking down.

"Hello, I'm Tara, I work for your grandfather, he'll just be another moment." She smiled and reached out to shake his hand.

"No Tara, I'm right here." A man's voice rang out, sharp, crisp, and clear.

Suddenly everyone in the room was standing up with their hands by their sides and their backs perfectly straight. What the hell was with these people, Louis wondered as he looked around. Looking back to the stairs, he found his grandfather coming down the final steps with an air of grace and walking over to him.

"Louis." He greeted, hands clasped in front of him. "Let me look at you..."

Louis shifted nervously as he stood there in front of his grandfather as the older man looked him over. Simon examined his grandson, trying not to let his face portray what he was thinking as he took in Louis' bushier eyebrows, glasses, and untamed hair.

"You look so... young." He finally commented.

"And you look so... refined." Louis hesitated, taking in the perfect fit of his grandfather's suit and perfectly groomed features.

"Tara, go check on tea in the garden." He requested.

"Of course sir." Tara replied and hurried off to do as requested.

His grandfather sat down across from him in one of the chairs and they stared at each other for a moment in silence.

"So..." Louis spoke after a few moments, "Mom said you wanted to talk to me... what about?"

"We'll get to that later, first I'd like to give you something." He replied, pulling out a wooden box with the word 'Cowell' carved into the top.

He handed it over and then leaned back as Louis examined it.

"Um, thanks." Louis said, not sure what was so special about it.

Tilting it to one side he heard something move inside so he opened it up and pulled out a necklace. It appeared to be a simple paper airplane necklace except on the wing it had a small symbol.

"It was my grandfather's." His grandfather explained as Louis looked at it. "He gave it to me when I turned sixteen. I figure you're close enough. That is the Genovian crest on the wing."

"Oh... well, um, thank you." Louis replied, still confused as to why it meant so much.

"It was your father's, he would've passed it onto you once you were sixteen had he had the chance."

And oh. Okay. Now Louis considered this to be something of importance even though he still had no idea why it seemed so important to his grandfather, it was seemingly just a family heirloom. Nevertheless, Louis hooked the necklace around his neck then tucked the box into his bag. Before either of them could say anything, Tara returned to the room.

"Sir, the tea is ready." She announced.

"Thank you Tara." Simon looked over at her and then back at Louis. "Shall we?"

Louis followed his grandfather out into the backyard where a table had been set up under a gazebo. There were a few men with muscles dressed in all black with dark sunglasses on situated randomly around the yard and two men dressed in white standing near the table.

"Louis, have you ever heard of David Michael Steven Cowell?" Simon questioned after taking a drink of his tea.

"No." Louis shook his head, peering down at the murky liquid in his cup before taking a slow sip - not too terrible, just a bit sweet.

"He was the crown prince of Genovia." His grandfather explained briefly and Louis hummed in acknowledgement.

"I'm sorry, why are you telling me this?" Louis inquired, setting his cup down.

Simon blinked at him and then spoke again, "David Michael Steven Cowell, was your father."

Louis nearly spat out his tea before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah... okay!" He gasped between laughs. "My father was the prince of Genovia! You're joking... that's really funny." Louis snorted, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

"Why would I joke about that?" Simon frowned, looking completely serious at him.

Louis sobered up quickly at that.

"No. Because if he was really a prince, then I -" Louis paused and his grandfather nodded with a small smile.

"Exactly. You're not just Louis Tomlinson. You are Louis William Tomlinson Cowell... Prince of Genovia." His grandfather spoke with pride and Louis' jaw dropped.

Okay. This guy was officially off his rocker.

"Me?" Louis sputtered. "A prince... What are you smoking!?"

"I beg your pardon?" Simon looked at him with a horrified expression. "I assure you I haven't a clue what you're talking about. Nevertheless, you are the prince and I am King Simon Phillip Cowell."

It was Louis' turn to look completely horrified. Him? A prince!? That had to be the best joke in history.

"Why would you pick me to be your prince?" Louis questioned, still not believing any of it.

"Since your father died, you are the natural heir to the throne. I am royal by marriage. You are royal by blood. You can rule." He explained and Louis nearly choked on his tea.

"Rule?! Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. Now you really have the wrong dude." Louis explained, feeling panic rise up inside him, startling his grandfather slightly. "I don't lead anybody... EVER."

Pausing, Louis took a couple of deep breaths before continuing.

"King Simon... my expectation in life, is to be invisible and I'm good at it!" Louis spoke, trying to remain calm.

"Louis, I had other expectations as well, but things change. You are the legal heir... the only heir and we will accept the challenge of helping you become the prince that you are! I can give you books... you will study languages, history, art, and political science. I can teach you to walk, talk, sit, stand, eat, and dress like a prince! And given time, I think you'll find the palace in Genovia is a wonderful place to live!" Simon said and Louis froze.

"Live in Genovia?" Louis questioned.

"It's a wonderful country." Simon began but Louis cut him off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... just... stop. Press rewind and stop! No. I refuse to move to and rule a country! I don't want to be a prince!" Louis explained, standing up and picking up his things before running away.

"Louis! Louis come back here!" Simon called after him but Louis kept going.

He ran to the front door of the massive house and quickly ran out, down the driveway, and out the gates. He didn't stop running until he got home.

Back in the garden Simon sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead.

"Well. I think that went well." Paul, his security guard and sometimes driver, spoke, coming to stand beside him.

Simon cast the man a silent glare and made his way back up to the house, motioning for the servants to clean up the table outside.

-_-

"Fifteen years!" Louis yelled at his mom. "Fifteen fucking years mom!"

"Louis, language please!" Jay huffed then softened her features. "Listen, I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't feel as though the right time to tell you had presented itself."

Louis' eyebrows rose above the frame of his glasses as he stared at her, standing in the middle of the living room.

"Do tell, when would you have thought it was the right time? When he showed up saying it was my turn to take over or whatever?" Louis questioned and she sighed.

"We were going to tell you when you turned eighteen." Jay responded, sitting down on the sofa.

"So you were going to keep this from me for another two years basically?" Louis inquired and she just looked at him. "Unbelievable!" he exclaimed, turning to leave.

"Louis..." Jay spoke quietly,. "When your father and I got divorced you were just a baby. We decided it would be best not to tell you. We were trying to protect you and give you a normal life. We had every intention of telling you when you were eighteen and even once your father passed away, I intended on telling you."

"You lied to me..." Louis shook his head then hurried up to his room.

He flopped down on his bed and tossed his glasses onto his nightstand. Soon Mittens jumped up to join him and sat near his hand until Louis petted her.

"You're so lucky you don't know who your parents are." Louis muttered and Mittens purred loudly as he rubbed her ears.

Sighing heavily, Louis pulled the covers over himself and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this story is already written so updates will be pretty quick :)

The next morning, Louis went through his normal morning routine and then hurried downstairs only to wish he hadn't. Sitting at the dining table was none other than his mom and grandfather.

"Oh no... I'm going back to bed." He groaned, turning away.

"Louis, please just listen to what he has to say." Jay begged, tiredness evident in her eyes.

"Fine." Louis caved, getting a glass of orange juice and leaning back against the counter, staring over at the pair. "What do you have to tell me today? Oh wait, let me guess... I have a twin that's a duke!"

Simon gave him a curious look and then spoke, "No, but you have a cousin that's a contessa."

Louis gave his grandfather an unimpressed look and continued drinking his juice without saying a word.

"Right. Anyways. Listen Louis, I know this is a lot to digest but will you please just think about it. You are the only heir. There is a ball coming up in one month's time, I would like to present you at that time as our prince." Simon explained and Louis stared at him. "I speak for Genovia when I say we need a prince."

"And I speak for this family." Jay added in.

"Oh no, neither of you are my family right now. You had nothing to do with me my entire life!" Louis pointed at his grandfather and then shifted to his mother. "And you lied to me for the past fifteen years. Families don't do that!" He exclaimed then hurried away, back upstairs.

"Where is he going?" Simon questioned, watching Louis go.

"The tower..." Jay sighed, getting up to go after her son.

"Tower?" Simon shook his head, confused, as he followed after her.

Jay wasn't lying. There was a ladder in Louis' room that led up to a tower. It was where Louis went when he just wanted to be alone. He shut the door and just sat there until he heard footsteps.

"Louis come one, just think about it." Jay requested, standing under the closed door.

Opening the door, Louis peered down at them, "I thought about it and the answer is no." He responded then slid the door shut again.

"Okay. How about this... Louis agrees to go to prince lessons until your ball..." She began but Simon cut her off.

"It's not my ball..." He began but she gave him a sharp look, surprisingly silencing him.

"Fine. Louis agrees to go to lessons until  _the_ ball and at that time he can tell you whether or not he accepts or rejects the crown. Can you both live with that?" Jay questioned, her tone telling Louis that she's just a bit aggravated.

Slowly he slid the door open.

"I guess." Louis muttered.

"It seems I have no choice, but not one word of it until the ball." Simon stated firmly, giving Louis a pointed look.

Instead of responding, Louis rolled his eyes and climbed out of the tower. He picked up his school bag, kissed his mom's cheek and then walked out of their home with his grandfather.

"Whoa!" Louis exclaimed, stopping abruptly when he saw two limos in front of their home. "You have two limos?"

"One is yours. Louis, this is Paul, my head of security and driver." Simon introduced him to the buff man standing next to the first limo.

The muscular man dipped his head at Louis, "Pleasure to meet you Prince Louis." He greeted and Louis smiled back at him politely.

Prince Louis. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Your lessons start after school, don't be late." Simon informed him and then walked over to the other limo where the driver quickly opened the door for him.

"Shall we sir?" Paul opened the door and gestured for Louis to get in.

"Uh... thanks." Louis offered as he slid inside.

Paul closed the door and hurried around to the driver's seat. Louis had one soul thought as they drove down the road... how the hell was he going to explain this to Niall without revealing his secret?

By the time they reached Niall's house, Louis had come up with a reason for showing up in a limo. A good one if he did say so himself. He motioned for Paul to pull over in front of the small townhouse and got out of the car just as Niall came walking up.

"What the hell...?" Niall questioned, looking at the limo and the maffia looking dude next to his best friend.

"Niall, this is Paul, our driver for the day." Louis introduced. "Paul, this is Niall, my best friend."

"Pleasure." Paul responded, shaking Niall's hand, "Shall we get going?"

"Oh right, yeah." Loui nodded, reaching for the door to open while Paul went to the driver's seat.

"This is sick. How the hell... What the hell." Niall laughed, running his hand over the leather seating. "When you said you had a surprise ride for today I thought maybe you'd gotten your car or something, but this is insane."

"Yeah, um, it's my grandfather's, he wanted me to use it so you know, whatever." Louis shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Damn. I wish my grandfather had a limo." Niall replied, "This is sick."

When they got closer to the school, Louis felt his stomach twist up. There was no way they could show up at school in a limo, it would attract way too much attention and Louis didn't like attention.

"Hey Paul, when we get a block from the school pull over and let us out... I don't want to cause a scene with this hearse." Louis spoke, looking at the man by way of the rearview mirror.

"Of course." Paul agreed easily.

He pulled over a block away from school and got out of the limo to open the door for Louis and Niall.

"Enjoy your day Louis." Paul said as he closed the door after they got out.

"Thanks." Louis offered him a small smile and hurried to catch up with Niall.

Later on when they were putting things back into their lockers at the end of the day, Niall asked if Louis wanted to go grab something to eat from their favorite burger joint.

"I can't today, I have to go see my grandfather. Guess since he's only in town for like a month he's trying to see me as much as possible. Tomorrow for sure though." Louis responded, grabbing the books he needed to finish his homework.

"Alright. Have fun." Niall nodded and headed off in search of Liam.

Louis walked back to where Paul had dropped him off that morning and found the limo parked there and waiting, Paul leaning against the door.

"Prince Louis." Paul greeted him properly since nobody was around.

"Hello Paul." Louis replied, climbing into the car when the door was opened for him.

Paul drove him over to Simon's house and led him inside.

"Your grandfather is waiting for you." He gestured to the living room area where the King and Tara awaited him.

"Ah! Louis, good you're here." Simon spoke as soon as he stepped into the room. "Today we're going to be going over how to walk and stand like a prince... and getting rid of that horrid posture."

Right to the point then. Louis sighed, tossing down his backpack and holding out his arms.

"Alright, what do I do?" He questioned.

For the next two hours Simon had him walking back and forth across the living room. The King would demonstrate how Louis should be walking and standing and then would have him copy him. About an hour into their lesson, Louis began making funny faces behind his grandfather's back, causing Tara to giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Simon inquired, staring at the female.

"Nothing Sir." Tara responded, straightening in her chair immediately.

"Louis, do take this seriously, I beg you." Simon implored his young grandson. "Drop your shoulders some, hold your head high, and keep your back straight... no slouching!"

When they finished up the lesson for the day, Louis couldn't get out of the massive home fast enough. Paul drove him home and Louis mumbled his thanks before going inside. Jay was waiting in the living room, sipping a cup of tea and flipping through some magazine when he stepped in.

"Hey, how'd it go?" She questioned, looking up at soon as he came in.

"It was alright. Apparently I've been standing and walking wrong all these years, who would've thought!" Louis replied somewhat sarcastically.

"Lou..." Jay chuckled and shook her head, "I know this is all really new, but it's only for a month... then you can decide what you want to do, be that decline or accept."

"I know. It's just really weird." Louis sighed, sitting down next to her and leaning on her shoulder. "Did dad ever intend for me to like take over?"

"I believe he wanted you too, yes." Jay answered, wrapping an arm around her son, "He wouldn't have forced you to do so, but I think he would've done exactly what your grandfather is doing now. It wasn't too horrible was it?"

"No, not really. Just kinda boring." Louis replied, sitting back up, "I'm gonna go eat, I've got some homework to do."

"Alright, I left your plate in the microwave." Jay said, going back to her magazine.

-_-

The next week was spent mostly over at his grandfather's mansion, learning how to become a prince. He's seen movies and based on those, Louis never thought there was a certain way to eat, but apparently, there was.

"Why exactly am I tied to the chair?" Louis inquired, trying to lean forward but finding himself completely restricted from doing so.

"Posture." Simon replied simply from where he sat at the opposite end of the table. "We don't slouch over our food, you should always sit tall with perfect posture. Also, we never slurp our soups..." He continued as Louis finally managed to get a spoonful to his lips and slurped it.

The young teenager paused, quirking his eyebrow. He was having to reinvent himself. Rules about standing. Rules about walking. Rules about sitting. Rules about eating. Rules. Rules. Rules.

"Let your soup cool some, then place the spoonful in your mouth that way you don't burn yourself and you won't slurp." Simon explained though there was really no need.

"I figured as much." Louis grumbled, getting another spoonful and following his grandfather's instructions.

They continued to work on table manners and entering a room properly for the next hour. When Simon finally told him he could leave, Louis hurried as he did every time they had a lesson. Today, however, instead of going home he headed over to the auto shop to check on his car.

"Hey Li." Louis entered the shop, finding Liam under the hood of his Mustang.

"Hey Lou." Liam stood up straight, casting him an easy smile. "Where've you been? Niall's been complaining about not seeing you."

"Oh, um, just hanging out with my grandfather." Louis answered, coming around to the driver's side of the vehicle. "So, what've you found out?"

Liam grimaced, not wanting to disappoint Louis but knowing the news would disappoint him.

"You need a new engine.... It's gonna be at least five hundred dollars." Liam replied and Louis nearly fell over in shock.

"Shit." The fifteen year old muttered.

"Liam told you then?" Mike, the shop owner came up, wiping his hands on a cloth.

"Yeah." Louis nodded.

"I'll do some free labor." Liam offered, seeing Louis' saddened features.

Mike turned and looked at the other boy with one eyebrow quirked up.

"No, that's fine... I'll figure it out." Louis sighed, picking up his bag and making his way back to the limo. "See you later Li."

As soon as he was gone, Mike chuckled and shook his head.

"You're sweet on him." He teased, nudging Liam with his elbow.

"What?" Liam looked away from where Louis had just disappeared. "No I'm not."

"I'll do some free labor he said with heart eyes." Mike mocked him and Liam shook his head.

"Nah man, he's my brother's best friend! I want to help!" Liam tried to convince the other mechanic.

"Right. Sure." Mike laughed, walking back over to the car he had been working on. "It's the hardest place to be... between friend and friendlier."

Liam shook his head but didn't comment any further, continuing to work on the Mustang. He thought he did rather well hiding his feelings for Louis. The other lad was just a year younger than he was and he was funny, sassy, and quirky. Louis was a fireball when they weren't at school and he was smart... not to mention cute. So yeah, he did really like Louis but he knew the younger boy's eyes only saw Justin Porter..

-_-

"I'm off mom! The car's here!" Louis called to his mother in the kitchen as he hurried through the living room.

"Alright, have fun!" Jay called back, stepping into the doorway in time to see her son opening the door.

"Not likely." Louis paused, turning to give her a small smile. "Love you."

"Love you too." Jay chuckled, waving him off.

He sighed heavily as he dropped into the backseat of the limo. Originally he had been supposed to hang out with Niall but now his grandfather wanted him and of course, he couldn't very well say no to the King. Louis listened to the radio the entire way over to his grandfather's home. He knew Paul wasn't fond of the pop music he liked to listen to, but the man never complained. At the house, Louis was guided by Tara through the house and into one of the guest bathrooms where Simon was waiting.

"Excellent you're here! Today we're going to be working on your looks and wardrobe." Simon said, standing up from the ottoman he had been sitting on. "Paul, do fetch Mister Fletcher from the other room."

"I'm sorry, we're what now?" Louis inquired, grasping the hoodie he had on a little tighter as Paul left the room and shortly returned, followed by a balding middle aged man and two women.

"Louis meet Mister Fletcher, he's a stylist here in San Francisco. He'll be taking care of your hair and whatnot today." Simon explained as Louis' eyes grew wide and he gulped. "Thank you for coming on such short notice." He spoke, turning to the stylist.

"But of course your Majesty." The balding man gave a short bow. "He is in excellent hands!"

"I hope so." Simon responded, not looking all that convinced. "Your helpers will need to sign these confidentiality forms as well."

"No problem, but our lips our sealed anyways!" Mister Fletcher, made a motion across his mouth as though zipping it.

"Right. I have some business to attend to so I'll leave you to it." Simon said, moving to exist the room, but stopping next to Tara. "Watch him like a hawk."

"Of course sir." Tara dipped her head and sat down on the ottoman previously occupied by the King.

"My, my, my..." Mister Fletcher shook his head after pushing Louis down in a chair. "Such neglect! Nancy, my brush."

One of the women handed him a brush and he went to work brushing out all the knots in Louis' hair and in general trying to make it easier to work with. Eventually, the man stopped pulling and yanking on Louis' hair, slapping the brush down with a huff. Louis watched as he walked over to a back and pulled out a bottle of something before coming back. Without a word Mister Fletcher poured the product into his hand and began working it into Louis' hair. Once he was done, he washed his hands then grabbed up a pair of tweezers. Louis couldn't help but flinch and hiss as the man began plucking his eyebrows, shaping them and making them less bushy.

"Tell me, do you have contacts?" Mister Fletcher questioned, picking up Louis' discarded glasses.

"Um, yeah I do, I just never wear them." Louis answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well." Mister Fletcher smiled and snapped the glasses in half. "Now you have no choice."

"Y-You... You... You broke my glasses!" Louis stuttered, taking the broken frames when the man dumped them in his hands.

"Indeed." Mister Fletcher acknowledged, picking up the brush again and setting to work on Louis' hair.

One of the girls took Louis' glasses and tossed them in the trash before setting to work buffing his nails and massaging his right hand while the second girl did the other hand. Nobody said anything so Louis just closed his eyes and remained silent as well, hoping for the best. As soon as his hair is done, Mister Fletcher reclined the seat and slapped a face mask on him, muttering about redness and acne and washing your face twice a day.

It feels like an eternity before Mister Fletcher finally announces that Louis' makeover is complete. He still can't see himself since his back is to the mirror, but the three staring back at him look impressed with their own work. A moment later, Simon walked into the room with Tara who had gone to fetch him.

"Much better. Well done." Simon said, taking in Louis' new appearance. "Come alone Louis, we need to do something about those clothes and shoes."

Everyone walked out of the room and Louis was left sitting in the bathroom. He took a few deep breaths before turning around to look at himself.

"Holy shit..." He whispered, leaning closer to the mirror to make sure that was his reflection.

Mister Fletcher had cut off a lot of his hair, making it short on the sides with enough on top to make a nice looking quiff. His eyebrows had been plucked and shaped perfectly and his skin looked soft, almost baby like. It was a drastic difference from what it was before. He almost didn't recognize himself.

Getting up, he hurried after his grandfather and Tara. He found them waiting for him in one of the extra bedrooms.

"Alright Louis, I had one of our personal shoppers go out and buy you some new clothes... some that actually fit properly along with a few pairs of shoes. I took the liberty of ordering you a new school uniform in the right size as well." Simon explained as Louis eyed the boxes sitting on the bed. "Shall we go through it all and see what you like and don't like?"

It's really a question that should have been asked before his grandfather went and spent who knows how much money on new clothes for him. Finding out Louis' preferences. He's always worn baggier clothes, hiding the curve and chub he has going on. And it's clear when Louis opens the first box that they are far from being that type of clothing.

The new school uniform fits nicely and the new black shoes to go with it are comfortable. The rest of the clothes are snugger, hugging him in all the right places according to the personal shopper. There's a glimmer in Simon's eyes as Louis goes through the clothes and tries everything on. They all applaud him and compliment him on just about everything he tries on, there's only a few items that get a thumbs down. Surprisingly, he likes the way he looks when he looks in the mirror even with the tighter clothes... perhaps it's the new hair cut.

"These are so much better." Simon commented a while later as two of his maids pack everything back in the boxes for Louis to take home. "A prince should always dress in the best, well fitted clothes. It lets people know that you care about your appearance and strive to look your very best. Always remember that. As a prince, people are always watching you."

"Right, cause that's everything I always wanted." Louis deadpanned as he tied his old sneakers on his feet.

"Well, I think that's enough change for today." His grandfather spoke, ignoring his comment. "I'll see you on Tuesday."

"Paul, could you help carry these to the car?" Louis inquired the security guard.

"Of course your highness." Paul nodded, moving to pick up several of the boxes.

"See you Tuesday." Louis turned to his grandfather, then followed after Paul with more of the boxes.

With everything loaded in the car, Paul drove Louis back to their converted firehouse home and helped him carry in the boxes of things. Jay watched with curious eyes and eyebrows quirked nearly up to her hairline as they brought things in and she took in her son's made-over self.

"What's all of this?" She questioned after Paul left.

"Grandfather thought I needed a makeover." Louis answered, flopping down onto the sofa.

His grandfather would not be happy about that, but he was home and away from all of that.

"I really like your hair." Jay smiled, reaching out to ruffle it. "It suits you well."

"Thanks, I actually don't mind it. They didn't tell me what they were doing or let me see it until it was completely done." Louis explained, leaning into his mother's gentle touch. "I don't have to go back until Tuesday. I just can't wait for all the looks I'm going to get at school."

"Oh! Speaking of school, I had that meeting with your teacher, Mr. Deakin, on Friday." Jay suddenly remembered the meeting she had gone to.

"I completely forgot about that." Louis responded, looking over at her. "What did he say?"

"I just explained to him that public speaking really wasn't your thing and told him you'd be willing to do some extra work to make up for that portion of your grade if it was going to be a problem. He said that'd be perfectly fine and he understood not everyone was made for speaking in public." Jay simplified her conversation with the teacher. "There was one other thing... I'm not quite sure I'll you'll respond to this though..."

"What is it?" Louis asked, frowning slightly.

"Well, you know it's been a very long time since I've gone out with anybody, like dating, you know? And Mr. Deakin and I talked for quite a while on Friday and we ended up setting up a day to go on a date." Jay said, her voice hesitant, even more so as Louis' eyes filled with disbelief.

"Oh my gosh... how do you walk into a parent-teacher conference and walk out with a date!?" He squawked. "Did you even stop and consider me and how much more the other students will make fun of me if they find out you're dating my teacher!?"

"You're right love, I didn't, I'm so sorry Lou." Jay sighed, offering him an apologetic smile. "I can always cancel..."

"No. No, it's fine." Louis replied, standing up, "I'm gonna go put these clothes in the wash and then finish up my homework."

"Alright sweetheart, I'll let you know when dinner's ready." Jay smiled, heading into the kitchen to check on their food.

She was thankful that Louis was understanding, mostly. It'd been a long time since she'd even considered seeing someone and Dan had been very kind. Even though they hadn't even had their first date yet, she really did hope this relationship would work out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the comments: What are your favorite types of Larry stories?? (Famous boys, non-famous boys, mpreg, non-mpreg, movie inspired, etc...)

The next morning Louis was a nervous wreck. He'd gotten up and fixed his hair the way Mister Fletcher had told him to, using as little product as possible before slipping into his new school clothes. He struggled for a good ten minutes trying to get his contacts in before finally getting them in right and heading downstairs.

Jay had already placed breakfast on the table and complimented his clothes and hair as he sat down to eat. He could only offer her a nervous smile. Today would be the first time Niall and Liam saw his new haircut, as for everyone else he was hoping to get away with wearing a beanie so they couldn't see.

Stopping in front of Niall and Liam's home, Louis took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. Turning, he reached for the door to open it but it was pulled open before he could and he came face to face with Liam. The just older boy, stood there staring at him completely speechless.

"What are you doing get in the car you... holy..." Niall exclaimed, catching sight of Louis. "What happened to you?"

"Oh... you, you don't like it? I know it's a bit extreme but I thought it looked good." Louis responded, heart pounding in his chest.

"It's not that it looks bad it's just I don't understand why you would let somebody do that to you." Niall said, climbing into the car, Liam following behind him. "I mean just the other day you said you didn't want to be one of those snotty idiots and now you look like one."

Louis bit his lip, stomach twisting in knots as Niall continued his little rant.

"You've got your hair and gotten rid of your glasses and my God you've plucked your eyebrows!" Niall exclaimed as he noticed his friend's perfectly done brows, then noticed his new school bag. "And you have one of these! Justin and his loser squad carry these bags!"

"It was a gift from my grandfather... I couldn't very well just throw it out, they're expensive." Louis tried to reason with his best friend.

"That doesn't mean you have to carry it!" Niall exclaimed, "Besides, you ditched me yesterday and then you show up looking like this."

"He wanted me to come, I had no choice." Louis muttered, looking out the window, growing annoyed with Niall ragging on him.

"You had no choice? Really, Louis? That's the excuse you're going with?" Niall questioned, eyebrows quirked up in disbelief. "Honestly, Louis, next thing you know you'll be hanging out with those pricks and acting exactly like them. All you do these days is go hang out with this overly rich grandfather of yours and you change more and more every time you do. It's like I don't even know who you are anymore!"

Louis didn't bother to answer, instead focusing on the buildings they were passing. Niall continued to rant, neither Louis or Liam said anything, tuning him out. Eventually they pulled up a block from the school and piled out of the car, Louis getting out on the driver's side while Niall and Liam got out on the passenger side.

"Was it just me or was somebody getting a bit misty eyed back there?" Paul inquired as he stepped out and looked at Louis.

"I'm fine." Louis muttered, wiping the stray tear off his cheek and taking a deep breath.

"Very well, I'll be off to meet your grandfather then." Paul said, placing his hand on the handle to open the door. "But you should know this, nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

"Eleanor Roosevelt said that." Louis gave him a small smile.

"Indeed, another special person, just like yourself." Paul smiled back, opening the door, "I'll be back at two."

"Alright, thanks." Louis nodded and headed over to where Niall was, for whatever reason, waiting for him.

Pulling a beanie out of his new bag, Louis tugged the black thing over his head to hide his new hair.

"What? Now you don't want everybody to see your new do?" Niall questioned, rolling his eyes at Louis.

"Niall!" Louis finally snapped, glaring at his friend. "Shut. Up. Just because your hair sucks, get off mine!"

"Ouch." Liam chuckled, suddenly appearing at Louis' side, "Thank you for that."

"Liam, can you pretend for like two seconds that you have a life?" Niall said, cutting his eyes at his brother.

"Oh calm down." Liam sighed, pushing a pair of earbuds into his ears, "Breathe. In, out, in, out."

"Go away." Niall deadpanned.

Chuckling, Liam walked away, singing along to the music playing on his phone.

"Now. What did you just say to me?" Niall rounded on Louis.

"You heard me." Louis crossed his arms and jutted his hip out, "I'm so sick of you ragging on me all the time lately. I get enough of that from my mother and now my grandfather and I don't need that from you!"

"I'm not an idiot you know? I know you're keeping something from me and we don't do that!" Niall exclaimed angrily. "You act like you have no choice but to go to your grandfather's whenever he calls for you and that's not normal, okay!? I know you're hiding something so either fess up or fuck off!"

With that, Niall turned on his heel and headed off towards the school. Louis groaned and ran a hand over his face in frustrations. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about this and yet if he didn't then Niall would be forever pissed at him.

"Wait." Louis called out before he realized what he was doing, jogging to catch up to the blonde.

"What?" Niall turned around, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll tell you but you have to swear not to tell anyone. Not your parents. Not Liam. Nobody." Louis spoke, his tone going serious. "Also, fair warning, you're going to think I've lost it."

"I won't tell anyone." Niall frowned, wondering what could be so big that he couldn't talk about it.

"You remember how my dad lived in Genovia?" Louis inquired, earning a nod from Niall, "Well, he lived there with my grandfather and over there they have royals... you know a king and all that. My grandfather is the King."

"What?" Niall whispered, eyes widening.

"My dad was the crown prince... and when he died..." Louis sucked in a deep breath and looked his friend in the eyes, "I became next in line."

"Shut up." Niall's eyes widened even more if possible. "Holy shit... you're royal..."

"Yeah. Apparently so." Louis sighed as they began walking towards the school, not wanting to be late. "I'm not even sure if I want to be..."

"What? Why? This is like huge." Niall said, adjusting his bag, grunting about the heavy books inside it.

"Because. I'm next in line for the throne... as in that's why my grandfather is here. He's putting me through prince lessons and then at the ball they're having here I'm supposed to make my decision as to whether or not I want to spend all my summers in Genovia and then after college, move there. The whole point of him doing this is to find a ruler for when he is ready to step down."

"Wow. So he wants to prepare you to run a country?" Niall confirmed and Louis nodded his head silently. "You think you'll be able to do that?"

"I don't know." Louis shrugged as they approached the school. "Guess we'll see how lessons go."

First class of the day is of course with Mr. Deakin, which means Taylor and her two shadows are there. Niall takes his assigned seat up front while Louis is stuck sitting right in front of Taylor who is flanked by her wannabes.

"Alright class, we're gonna be starting off with a pop quiz on the French revolution!" Mr. Deakin announced, passing a stack of papers to each row.

"Uh, Mr. Deakin?" Taylor raised her hand from where she sat behind Louis.

"Yes, Miss. Adams?" Mr. Deakin acknowledged her.

"There's a rule that says nobody is allowed to wear hats in class and I don't think anyone should be excluded from that rule... don't you agree sir?" Taylor smiled sweetly at the teacher, referring to Louis and his beanie.

Mr. Deakin heaved a heavy sigh but nevertheless spoke to Louis, "Louis I'm sorry, but rules are rules."

Letting out a soft sigh of his own, Louis reached up and took the beanie off his head. The class instantly reacted to his new hair, now noticing his eyebrows as well.

"Mamma mia, look who's trying to fit in now." Taylor taunted, leaning closer to Louis.

"It's a wig right?" One of Taylor's friends, questioned, moving up from her seat to give his hair a tug.

"Looks like he got a head transplant." Taylor's other friend laughed.

"I think it looks good, Louis." The girl sitting next to him offered him a sincere smile, to which he gave her a small grateful one.

"Well I think it rocks." Niall spoke up suddenly, glaring at Taylor and her friends. "Now can you shut up so we can get this stupid quiz done?"

Just as Taylor was about to respond, Mr. Deakin hushed the class. He set a timer for ten minutes and told them to get started on their quiz while he sat back down at his desk and rubbed his temples. He loved his job. He loved his job. He loved his job. He repeated in his head over and over.

-_-

"We need fountains and flowers, this is far too boring. The Japanese Embassy has a waterfall, why can't we have fountains?" The King questioned a week later as he and Louis walked through the garden in the backyard of the Genovian consulate.

"We have a fountain up there." Tara pointed out.

"Yes, but I want at least two more, right here." Simon gestured to two spots in the yard. "There needs to be flowers, walkways, and lights as well. Just make it so anyone that ever steps back here has to stop and admire how beautiful it is."

"Of course your Majesty." Tara nodded, writing in her notebook as she made her way back up to the house.

"Louis, continue please." Simon ordered, motioning to the book that Louis had been reading out loud from.

After a while longer, Simon told him to stop and gave him four books to take home to read. A few days later, Louis found himself sitting next to his grandfather in the ballroom as though they were in a carriage. The point of the lesson was to teach him how to interact with the people as he passed them.

"Just wave at them and acknowledge them with a smile." Simon instructed him.

Louis immediately stuck up his hand and waved as he usually would, calling out a hello. Chuckling, Simon reached out to stop him before he could call out a second hello.

"Dial it down. We typically do this during parades and such, it would get very exhausting, very quickly if you waved like that. Here, like this..." Simon said, lifting hand and waving as he would during a parade, almost as though he was wafting a smell closer to him. "Also, you want to speak gently or else your throat will begin to hurt."

Louis studied him for a moment before replicating what he was doing. It didn't take as much effort as the waving he had been doing before, just like Simon had said.

"Even gentler..." Simon smiled at how well Louis took to what he said. "There we go. You can greet the people and thank them for coming, just no questions, there's no time to stop."

"Right. Got it." Louis nodded.

They continued on with the lessons for the day. It was mainly focused on waving and speaking. Louis still feared public speaking more than he feared anything else really. Even standing in front of his grandfather, Tara, and some of the security team he found himself wanting to run away or throw up. Which each lesson that passed, however, that week he had gotten better and no longer felt like barfing... though he still felt like running.

Simon had explained to him that at the upcoming ball he would be expected to give a speech, whether it was one to accept or decline the crown... it would be expected of him. The thought alone had been enough to send Louis running to the nearest toilet. That was when Simon had decided they needed to work on his public speaking and hopefully help him get over that fear. They definitely couldn't have him throwing up in front of everybody.

-_-

"So this is considered art?" Louis inquired as he watched his mother, dressed in a smock, throw a dart at a canvas covered wall, aiming for one of the paint filled balloons scattered about.

"Of course." Jay chuckled, hitting a blue balloon and making the blue paint run down the canvas with a happy smile. "Art doesn't have to be all straight lines or perfect shading... Art can be fun and random. Now come on, grab a smock and help me."

Smiling and shaking his head, Louis did as he was told. Grabbing up some darts, he began tossing them at the canvas. They cheered every time one of them hit a balloon and watched as the colors ran together.

"It beats homework doesn't it?" Jay questioned as Louis popped another balloon.

"Of course! Some parents help their kids with homework, we just do this." Louis replied, unable to stop smiling at the mess they were making. "And it definitely beats prince lessons."

"How's that going?" Jay asked, looking over at him.

"Fine I guess. I just do what he tells me to do and that's pretty much it. It's like extra homework." Louis answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's not too much is it? You've been spending a lot of time over there." His mom commented, tossing another dart. "I don't want you to be overwhelmed and start doing poorly in school..."

"It's fine, really. Thankfully I never have too much homework." Louis replied, cheering as he popped a red balloon.

-_-

"What are you doing Saturday night?" Liam questioned as they walked towards the school, Niall lagging far behind them.

"Um, nothing to my knowledge. Why?" Louis asked, looking over at the slightly taller boy.

"Well, we got in the new parts for your Mustang plus there's a band that's been renting out some space to practice, they're pretty good so I thought maybe you'd like to check them out?" Liam asked, hope filling his eyes and voice. "And maybe you could help out with the new parts, if you want?"

"Sure, that sounds nice." Louis smiled, "Is this like a date... music... cars..."

"N-No." Liam stuttered, cheeks turning pink.

"Well, does this little... hang out come with food?" Louis' smile grew as Liam's cheeks remained pink. "Perhaps pizza with bacon and spinach because I know you have to have at least one healthy thing on there?"

"Sure." Liam laughed just as Niall called out to them.

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME! WAIT!" Niall yelled, running towards them and attracting the attention of three others walking towards school, "Not you idiots, I don't even know you, move! WAIT FOR ME!"

"We are waiting Niall..." Louis rolled his eyes at his best friend then turned back to Liam, "I'll see you later."

"Alright, can't wait." Liam smiled then continued on towards the school.

Niall caught up to Louis a moment later, huffing as he came to a stop. Louis laughed and patted his friend on the bag. Once Niall had caught his breath, they made their way towards school. As they got close, loud chatter greeted their ears and a large group of people came into view.

"What the hell..." Niall muttered, taking in the amount of people.

"What's going on?" Louis asked, stepping closer to Niall as they approached.

"I have no idea..." Niall responded, looking around for some sort of celebrity or something that would attract the reporters.

"Excuse me, hi, what's going on?" Louis inquired, tapping a young reporter on the shoulder.

"THAT'S HIM! THAT'S LOUIS TOMLINSON!" Taylor suddenly yelled out over everybody else talking.

The young reporter immediately lifted his camera and began snapping pictures of Louis. The bright flash nearly blinding the fifteen year old.

"You! We've been waiting for you!" The reporter exclaimed as others began closing in around him.

Before Louis could grab out at Niall he was forced into the middle of the reporters. Cameras were flashing all around him and everyone was yelling questions at him.

"Niall! Niall!" Louis called out, trying to avoid tripping as he was pushed further away from his best friend.

"Over here Prince Louis!"

"Prince Louis look this way!"

"Prince Louis!"

"Louis what's your favorite color!?"

"Louis who's your favorite actor!?"

"Louis!"

A large, firm hand wrapped around Louis' biceps and the younger man nearly screamed for help, thinking it was a reporter, before catching sight of Mr. Deakin. The school principal was there as well, wrapping an arm around Louis' shoulders as they guided him through the crowd and into the school where the reporters were forbidden to go. In the principal's office, Louis sat in one of the chairs and waited.

"Your mother is on her way Louis." One of the female gym coaches said, entering the room from the guidance office.

"Okay." Louis whispered, unsure of what more to say.

Just then the phone began to ring on Principal Massey's desk. Reaching over, she snatched the phone up and answered it. She nodded her head curtly a few times even though the person on the other end couldn't see her then put it down quickly.

"The King is coming to the high school." She said, looking at the two other staff that were in the room.

"Oh gosh..." Louis groaned quietly, hiding his face in his hands.

Thirty minutes later Simon was being led through the crowd of reporters by Paul and another security card. He walked into the principal's office where Jay was already waiting and shut the door. Principal Massey immediately offered her seat to Simon and he sat down after saying a very curt hello to her. A moment later, Paul entered the room followed by Mister Fletcher.

"Paul?" The King inquired, quirking his eyebrow.

"Speak." Paul demanded, shoving Mister Fletcher forward.

"Your Majesty, it was I who told on you." Mister Fletcher admitted, "But not for money! I don't care about money! There was no money involved... well there was some money, but still!"

"Paul..." Simon motioned for the man to take the hair stylist away then looked over at the principal, "Might we have a moment alone?"

"Oh um..." Principal Massey stumbled over her words.

"Cal, take this lovely lady out and show her our plans for the security to keep Louis safe." Simon spoke, looking over at the guard Louis didn't know.

"Of course your Majesty." Cal bowed slightly and gestured for the principal to follow him.

"Okay. Seriously. A three weeks ago Louis was a normal kid and now he's having cameras shoved in his face." Jay spoke as soon as the door to the office had closed.

"Louis has never been normal, Johannah." Simon cut her off before she could say anything more. "He was born royal. We deal with the press every single day and this will be no different. We will get through this."

"Louis... sweethearts, you don't have to do this. You can get out of this whole thing right now. All you have to do is say you're done." Jay said, crouching down next to the chair her son was sitting in and placing a hand on his bouncing knee.

"She's right, Louis, we had an agreement." Simon agreed, looking at his grandson.

"Alright." Louis said, standing up from his seat. "I will think about it and let you know."

"Good. A diplomatic answer." Simon offered him a proud smile. "Polite, but vague."

-_-

_"Louis Tomlinson is the son of local artist Johannah Tomlinson. They currently live in a renovated firehouse south of Market Street right here in San Francisco. Louis is also the only grandchild of King Simon Phillip Cowell, whose wife passed away just last year. Louis, being the only grandchild and following the loss of his father, is the heir to the Genovian throne. I'm Nadine Sanders signing off"_

"It won't go away." Louis said as he was ushered around the students by Paul and Cal with Niall at his side.

It had been three days since he had been outed and the media began watching his every move. The press weren't allowed on school property, however, the street in front of the school was apparently just fine.

"Um hello, you're a prince." Niall chuckled lightly as they entered the school and immediately all eyes locked on Louis. "Everybody wants to take your picture, everybody wants to be your new best friend. Well FUCK OFF, position filled!"

"Mr. Horan... honestly." Paul sighed, shaking his head at the fifteen year old before turning to the prince, "Your Highness, we'll be back to pick you up as always. If you have any issues, make sure you alert one of the teachers."

"Right. Got it." Louis responded, giving him a thumbs up before walking away with Niall.

"Okay, but seriously. Since you're 'out' now, will you please do an interview for the school paper? I haven't come up with anything and this would be like the best piece ever, getting to interview a prince that attends this school that I just happen to be best friends with." Niall pleaded, clasping his hands together.

"Sure Nialler." Louis smiled, giving in easily to the request.

"Great! We can work on it Saturday evening!" Niall said, opening up his locker to retrieve his things, "I'll see you in third period."

"Bye." Louis waved as Niall shut his locker and walked away before opening his own.

As he closed his locker, he turned around and was startled to find Paul standing right behind him.

"You scared me." Louis grumbled, clutching his hand over his heart.

"My apologies Prince Louis." Paul responded quietly, "You forgot this in the car." He handed over Louis' cell phone that had apparently slipped out of his pocket.

"Oh. Thanks." Louis said taking the device and pocketing it. "Hey Paul?"

"Yes your Highness?" Paul quirked an eyebrow, giving him his attention.

"I don't want to run my own country. I just want to pass high school." Louis admitted to the older man, "Can't I just tell everyone I quit?"

"Nobody can quit being who they are, not even a prince." Paul responded giving him a somewhat sympathetic look. "Now, you can refuse the job, but you will always be a prince by birth."

"How do I even know if I can do this?" Louis asked, adjusting his bag.

"By simply trying." Paul smiled, reaching out to pat his shoulder, "You know that fancy dinner coming up? He thinks you're ready. I'll be back later to pick you up, we'll go directly to the consulate."

Louis sighed heavily as he watched Paul walk away. The dinner coming up would be attended by some parliament members as well as other important people from Genovia. The prior week they had been practicing him making his entrance, he would enter by himself, unlike at the ball where he would enter with the King.


	4. Chapter 4

When Wednesday arrived, Louis found himself dressed in an expensive suit that fit him perfectly and walking down a set of stairs, focusing on not tripping. He has his shoulders back and head high just like his grandfather taught him. Paul is waiting at the bottom of the steps where people are milling about, waiting for dinner to begin.

"Excellent Prince Louis." Paul commented quietly, guiding him over to a couple, "This is our Prime Minister, Colyn Mace, and his lovely wife, Tricia."

"Hello." Louis greeted, giving them both a polite smile.

"Lovely to meet you your highness." Colyn spoke, bowing his head as his wife curtsied.

"Same to you." Louis responded just as a waiter stepped out.

"Dinner is served." The man announced, opening the doors to the dining room.

Louis sat down next to the prime minister near the middle of the table and glanced around. His grandfather was nowhere to be seen and it put him on edge slightly even though Paul was standing outside the door. He was surrounded by important people whom he had no clue who they were. Two of which, he noticed, seemed to be glaring at him and whispering about him to each other.

"His Majesty, King Simon." Somebody announced, startling Louis slightly.

Simon walked into the room, dressed in a suit as well, pausing briefly before going to the head of the table and sitting down. Staff brought out their meal, beginning with dishes of fruit to start. Louis looked down at the plate before and sighed softly, never in his life had he eaten grapes with a fork. Who even started eating grapes with a fork? Using your fingers was so much easier, so he quickly snatched one with his fingers and plopped it into his mouth, hoping nobody saw him.

Soon those dishes were taken away and their main course was brought out. Around him, people made conversation with each other, he, however, remained silent and nobody made an effort to speak to him. Louis could hear his grandfather asking a woman about her children to which he was promptly presented a photo from her purse. Next to him, the prime minister was being questioned about the pear market in Genovia. Honestly. The things the people spoke about.

"The King would like a word with you." A voice spoke in his ear and Louis recognized it as Paul.

Standing up, he excused himself before walking up to crouch down beside his grandfather's chair.

"You wanted to see me?" Louis questioned.

"Is everything going alright?" Simon inquired, glancing over at Louis and keeping his voice down. "You seem awfully quiet."

"There's not exactly anything to speak about." Louis responded, which was true, nothing these people were talking about interested him.

"I see. Well, you won't have to sit at the table much longer. Once dessert is over we'll move to the ballroom for dancing and socializing." Simon informed him, "Just make an effort."

Nodding his, Louis stood back up and made his way back to his seat. Colyn offered him a kind smile which he quickly returned. Their dessert plate were set before him and Louis' eyebrows rose as he eyed the green substance perfectly scooped into the bowl atop the plate. His eyes found his grandfather's and he was only offered the hint to pick up his spoon and take a bite. Shrugging his shoulders, Louis picked up his spoon and dipped it into the cold pale green ice cream.

"You might not want to..." Colyn began from beside him but Louis had already placed the considerably large bite into his mouth.

It's instant regret.

"Oh my gosh." Louis mumbled around the freezing substance.

"What happened?" Tricia inquired, leaning forward slightly to see around her husband. "Oh dear..."

Louis brought his hand up to his mouth, hoping the heat from his hand would help his stone cold mouth defrost a bit as he tried to get the ice cream down. Next to him, the prime minister and his wife were placing larger bites into their mouths. Louis shook his head, but the two went ahead and immediately had the same reaction.

Everyone at the table was staring at them as Tricia clutched her husband's arm in what could only be described as a death grip, the prime minister was making and releasing his into a fist, and Louis sat with his hand still covering his mouth. Simon watched on, unsure whether to be humored or embarrassed at the scene. Finally the ice cream was swallowed and the three breathed heavy sighs of relief, their mouths warming back up. Before Simon could make any sort of comment, the quietest man sitting at the table who seemed to have no interest in conversing with anybody, began to laugh. Soon, everyone else, including Simon was chuckling about what had just happened. Louis ducked his head, feeling rather embarrassed and not finding it all that funny.

Once he arrived home from the party, Louis quickly stripped off his formal wear and took a shower, wanting to get all the hair product out of his hair. He'd only stopped briefly to talk to his mom in the living room before retiring upstairs, feeling rather tired. After pulling on a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, he climbed into bed and pulled the covers up. Not long after he felt Mittens jump up onto the bed, so he rolled onto his side to look at her.

"I bet your night was better than mine." Louis spoke to the cat as she came to lay next to him. "I did a bang up job embarrassing myself."

Mittens looked at him with wide eyes and let out a soft meow, butting his hand with her head. Louis let out a soft laugh and scratched her ears for a bit before tucking his hand back under the covers.

"You're lucky you don't have to do any of this, you just lay around all day and get loved on." Louis commented as he closed his eyes.

He drifted off to sleep while Mittens situated herself and followed soon after.

-_-

"This place was such a disaster when I first arrived." Simon sighed as he poured some water into a pot with a flowering plant from a watering can. "Don't just stand there, grab one of these and make yourself useful, water everything."

Grabbing a watering can full of water, Louis began pouring water into the pots on the other side of the greenhouse.

"You're not upset about last night?" Louis inquired, clearing his throat.

"No. I'm not. Honestly, it reminded me of my first royal dinner party... what a disaster that was." Simon responded was a laugh. "I knocked over a suit of armor... the spear nearly took out the prime minister."

Louis couldn't help but laugh at that. At least he hadn't nearly killed somebody, it made him feel a little better about the previous nights events.

"Louis, how about we cancel lessons for today and just go have some fun?" Simon suggested, setting down the watering can he was holding.

"Fun?" Louis clarified, certain he had misheard the king.

"Your Majesty," Tara appeared in the doorway of the greenhouse, "Lady ReighAnn has arrived and I have the French consulate on hold, he wants to confirm tonight's dinner."

"Cancel everything for today Tara." Simon instructed, offering Louis a smile, "I'm being shown San Francisco. Tell Paul to ready the car."

"Of course your Majesty." Tara bowed out, hurrying to do as she was told.

By the time they stepped out of the house, the limo was out and waiting, Paul standing at the back door, ready to open it for them.

"Your Majesty," Paul greeted as he opened the door for him before greeting Louis, "Your Highness."

"Hello Paul." Louis smiled and climbed in after his grandfather.

For the rest of the day Louis showed his grandfather around San Francisco. They visited a few must see spots and stopped at a food truck for dinner. Louis had laughed when he handed Simon his order from the truck and the older man had looked at it as though it was going to come alive at any moment. He urged him to take a bite, already knowing the food from the truck was good and feeding his own face. The King had quickly given his approval of the food after trying it, surprise showing on his face when he discovered it was good.

Towards the end of the evening, they walked through some of the shops. Louis forced himself not to pay attention to all the people staring at them. He supposes it's a bit of an odd sight, two men walking around with two other men dressed in all black following them close behind. It's also weird knowing people recognize him because his name and face have been splashed all over magazines and gossip shows.

"Did my dad always want to be a prince?" Louis questioned as the sun began to sink in the sky.

They were walking back to the limo along the beach. The sky was beginning to turn shades of pink, orange, blue, and purple. The evening air whipping around them as they walked.

"Yes, except once a number of years ago." Simon answered, glancing over at Louis, "Because he met a lovely artist who showed him another world... showed him how different his life could be."

"But...?" Louis urged him to continue.

"But, he had a decision to make and it was one no one could make for him." Simon explained, "Though people thought I did. Everyone knew that David's brother, my eldest son, was going to renounce his crown, and he eventually did. Your father realized that the love he felt for one person, or even two, could not make him forget the love he had for his country and its people. It was the hardest decision he ever made."

"I guess he felt as though he made the right decision?" Louis inquired after a moment of silence, coming to a stop next to the limo.

"I believe so. Your mother sent him pictures of you, made sure he knew what you looked like since it was agreed they wouldn't tell you until your eighteenth birthday, it would have been a bit suspicious had the crown Prince of Genovia showed up here randomly. I did question him more than once if he were absolutely sure of his decision. He told me that it would give you a normal life and protect you, that gave him peace of mind... and he trusted your mother to keep you safe." Simon replied, settling into the car next to Louis. "You were always on his mind."

Louis nodded but remained silent, unsure of what to say. It made him happy to know his father was always thinking about him, but sad to know he never got to meet him before he was killed.

-_-

Friday morning Louis walked up to the school with Paul trailing behind him like always. There were some children and adults standing around, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the prince. Louis offered them a smile as he began to walk by, not stopping as Paul instructed him to do. Though about halfway to the steps, Louis' eyes fell on a young girl in a wheelchair beaming at him and came to a halt. Walking over he crouched down next to the chair and smiled at the girl.

"Hello... What's your name?" Louis questioned, feeling all eyes on him.

"Stacey." The little girl replied shyly and pushed a small notebook towards him, "Will you sign this for me?"

"Absolutely." Louis smiled, taking the notebook and accepting a pen someone gave him.

He signed the notebook quickly, writing her a little note before handing it back to her. Standing back up, he allowed Paul to usher him up the steps and towards the doors. As he passed by a cluster of reporters not following the rules about being on school grounds, he overheard Taylor talking to one of them.

"Oh we're definitely best friends, he's my guy best friend. We go out to eat together so much, we even finish each other's sentences." Taylor told the reporter.

Louis rolled his eyes and continued walking. He'd gotten use to this, people pretending to be his best friend to get their fifteen minutes of fame. He couldn't make new friends now, he didn't know who was genuine and who was fake, so he was content having only Liam and Niall.

Paul left him once he was safely in the school and Louis walked off to his locker, Niall was absent that day since he had a dentist appointment and Liam had gone into school early. Sighing to himself, he quickly collected his books and grabbed them into his bag. Shutting his locker, he turned to walk away when he bumped into another person.

"Oh geez, sorry." Louis apologized immediately, then looked up to see Justin Porter standing in front of him.

"Louis." Justin smiled, curling an arm around his shoulders, "Step into my office for a minute."

Louis swallowed thickly and followed Justin over to the small fountain that was in the middle of the locker area outside.

"I hope what Taylor said didn't freak you out too much." Justin started, giving Louis a concerned look.

"Oh, um, no it didn't." Louis responded, shaking his head.

"Good. Because I broke up with her because of it, I hate phony publicity seekers. It's so pathetic." Justin said, moving a little closer to the prince. "Anyways, tomorrow night is the big beach party and I was thinking it'd be really cool if we went together."

"Oh... uh okay." Louis managed to get out, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Did Justin Porter seriously just ask him out?

"Awesome. See you there." Justin gave him a movie star smile then strutted away to class.

It took Louis a moment to realize he was just standing next to the fountain looking like an idiot. Liam, oddly enough, was the first thing that entered his mind once Justin was out of sight. He needed to reschedule his plans with Liam. There was no time to do it before first period, so he headed off to class, knowing he could catch Liam before second.

As soon as he was out of first period, Louis made his way to the lockers even though he didn't need to get anything from them, knowing that's where Liam would be. It had been a stroke of luck that Liam, Niall, and himself had gotten lockers right next to each other. And sure enough, Liam was standing at his locker when Louis arrived.

"Hey Li." Louis greeted, walking up to him.

"Oh hey Lou." Liam smiled, pausing whatever he was doing at his locker to give Louis his full attention.

"You will never believe what Justin Porter asked me this morning." Louis said as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder.

"Knowing him he probably asked you for a mirror?" Liam snickered, knowing how self absorbed the jock was.

"No..." Louis chuckled, giving Liam a light shove, "He asked me to the beach party with him."

"Isn't that tomorrow?" Liam frowned, having thought he and Louis had plans.

"Yeah... so I was thinking that we could get together at the shop next week? We can work on the car and listen to that band you told me about." Louis responded, missing the disappointment in Liam's eyes, his mind still reeling over the fact that Justin had asked him out.

"Oh. Um, yeah, sure that's fine." Liam replied, biting his bottom lip as he took note of how excited Louis seemed to be.

"Great! Hey, are you alright?" Louis inquired as he saw Liam's eyebrows knit together slightly.

"I'm fine." Liam forced a smile, setting something in his locker.

"Alright, well I'll see you later! Thanks a lot! Bye!" Louis smiled, turning to head off to second period.

"Bye." Liam muttered, taking hold of his locker door and slamming it shut.

-_-

"Is Paul driving?" Jay inquired from where she stood in the doorway of her son's room, watching him look at himself in the mirror.

"No, he actually took the night off. I'll just ride on the bus with the other students." Louis explained, examining the swim shorts he was wearing. "I look fat."

"You do not look fat." Jay stated firmly, shaking her head.

"I look fat." Louis repeated, snatching a different pair of swim shorts and marching back into the bathroom.

"Louis... Are you nervous about the party?" Jay asked, sitting down on his bed and petting Mittens.

"No, actually I'm pretty excited." Louis answered, coming back out a second later, now in a pair of black trunks with simple blue and white striping across them. "I might get my first kiss." He said mindlessly, forgetting his mom was sitting there for a moment.

"Oh!? From who!?" Jay questioned, excitement in her voice, chuckling as Louis blushed.

"Justin Porter." Louis sighed heavily.

His mom knew he was gay and she didn't care. He had even already crossed over that bridge with his grandfather who insisted he didn't care one way or another.

"That backstreet boy wannabe that you've been crushing on since junior high?" Jay confirmed and Louis nodded. "Sweetheart... Just promise me you'll be careful..."

"Geez mom it'd just be a kiss!" Louis exclaimed, whirling around to look at her, "I'm not going to... you know... Oh my gosh no."

"I'm just asking you to be careful. Louis your life isn't the same as it was two months ago, please take that into consideration." Jay pleaded with him.

"I know. I know, sorry." Louis replied, turning back around to decide whether or not he wanted to wear the trunks he had on. "I'll be careful, promise."

"Good boy." Jay smiled, standing up from the bed and coming over to kiss the back of his head, "Keep your cell phone on. Call me or Paul if you need help."

"Alright. I'll see you later, Paul's dropping me off at the school." Louis said, deciding yes to the swim trunks, quickly pulling on a plain blue shirt, and pushing his feet into his shoes.

As planned, Paul dropped him off at the school and Louis met up with Justin. The taller boy had quickly tucked Louis under his arm, keeping him by his side. Eventually they loaded onto the bus and headed to the beach. Justin's dad had brought their boat down so as soon as they arrived, he steered Louis to the water and they climbed on.

They spent the day laughing and talking, eventually heading back to shore so they could eat. The school had set up a stage and had karaoke going on for anyone who wanted to sing and of course Taylor and her shadows took the stage first.

"That was really great." Louis commented to Justin as they each got a burger and drink with a bag of chips.

"It was." Justin smiled, motioning for Louis to sit down on the beach blanket he tossed down.

Later on, after the sun had disappeared and the beach was lit up by lamps the school had set up, Louis found himself dancing with Justin. They had switched from people singing karaoke to just playing a CD and people had begun to partner up to dance.

Louis' heart was racing in his chest and he hoped Justin couldn't feel it trying to escape. The other boy didn't seem to notice though, he was too busy pulling Louis closer and getting an arm around his waist, pressing their chests together. Louis couldn't help but smile against Justin's shoulder as they danced to a slow song, ignoring the looks Taylor was giving them.

Before the song ended, a distinct whooshing sound hit Louis' ears and suddenly there was a spotlight on searching the beach and a helicopter hovering over them. Louis' eyes widened in horror as he saw a man with a camera, no doubt trying to search him out.

"Oh shit, come on." Justin said, taking his hand and pulling up over to a small bait shop.

They slipped inside seemingly unnoticed.

"I'm sorry." Louis apologized, peaking out the window and seeing reporters showing up, "I didn't think they'd find me here."

"It's fine. Don't stress about it. I'm sure they'll go away soon when they can't find you." Justin assured him, reaching out to touch his elbow, distracting Louis from the scene outside. "At least we're together right?"

A blush rose on Louis' neck all the way up to his cheeks as he turned around and offered Justin a shy smile, "Yeah. Just wish they'd quit following me."

"Hey, it's totally fine. You're fine, you're safe in here. Come here." Justin murmured, holding out his hand, lurring Louis over.

Immediately, Louis' heart rate picked up. This was it. He was going to have his first kiss. Yeah, sure, he imagined it being a bit more romantic than this but he supposes he can't be picky. Reaching out, Louis placed his hand in Justin's and made to step forward only for his feet to get tangled in a fishing net on the floor, making him fall and collide with Justin's chest.

"Oof!" Justin grunted as Louis fell against him.

"Sorry... sorry..." Louis groaned, cheeks flaming with embarrassment as he untangled his feet.

"It's alright." Justin chuckled, stepping away from the shorter boy. "I think they might be gone now, it's gotten pretty quiet."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Louis said, glancing out the window and not seeing the helicopter anymore.

"We can go find somewhere more romantic." Justin suggested, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Okay." Louis squeaked.

They walked over to the door and Justin opened it, peeking out to see if anybody was waiting for them.

"Nobody's there." He said, turning to look at Louis and offering a hand, "Come on."

Taking Justin's hand, Louis followed him out and onto the small porch connected to the shop. Almost as soon as they stepped out, reporters and paps popped out of nowhere, snapping pictures and calling out at him. He tried to go back into the shop, but Justin held him in place, beaming at the cameras.

"PRINCE LOUIS! OVER HERE!"

"LOUIS GIVE US A SMILE!"

"PRINCE LOUIS!"

"KISS HIM!"

"GIVE US A BIG KISS!"

Before Louis could even comprehend what was happening, Justin had grabbed his shoulders and was pressing their lips together. He was trying to make it look good even though it was completely awkward looking with Louis standing stiff as a board and not responding in any way. Finally snapping out of his shocked state, Louis managed to get an arm free and slapped Justin upside the head, making him let go.

He turned immediately and hurried away, desperately trying to get away from the paps. He ran away from the beach, vision blurry with tears as he made his way across the street and towards a small cafe he had seen when they arrived. Darting inside, he avoided the curious look of the elderly woman standing behind the counter and rushed into the bathroom. Pulling out his phone he sent a text to Paul telling him where he was and that he needed him to come.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock at the bathroom door and a voice calling out for him that he recognized as Paul's. The security guard led him out to the limo and hurried him inside before darting back to the driver's seat and taking off. As soon as they arrived at Louis' home, he was out of the car and running inside, ignoring the concerned call of his mother.

Jay, of course, found him quickly in the tower of his bedroom where he was sobbing. Climbing up, she sat down next to him and pulled him close, not asking any questions right away. Once he had calmed down, she asked what happened and he was barely able to get the story out before bursting into tears again.

"My mom always told me not to cry, to suck it up and be a big girl... but you just cry sweetheart, let it all out." Jay said, holding her son tightly and letting him sob.

"It was horrible!" Louis choked out, letting himself be held.

"I know baby." Jay soothed, rubbing his back, "I know."

-_-

_"It was just last night when San Francisco's very own little Prince partied at the beach! What started out to be innocent fun soon turned into what appeared to be so much more! I'm Khloe Mason signing off!"_

"Just say something." Louis sighed, sitting in a chair in front of his grandfather.

"I don't think there's much to say Louis." Simon sighed heavily as he tossed the morning paper aside, an article about Louis gracing the front page. "A picture's worth a thousand words and you have four on the front page!"

"I embarrassed the family didn't I?" Louis inquired, looking down at his fingers.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes, you did." Simon responded, steepling his hands in front of him. "I think you're making a wise decision by declining the job."

"I suppose I won't be coming to the ball." Louis stated, standing up from his seat.

He had decided last night after he had been all cried out that he would decline the crown and would not be the Prince of Genovia. He hated the life it brought him. Paps and reporters everywhere he turned. People trying to get close to him. People trying to embarrass him. He hated it. He couldn't do it. He wasn't strong like his father had been.

"What are you talking about? Of course you'll still come! You are family after all. Just because you don't want to be our prince doesn't mean we're going to exile you." Simon shook his head, coming around his desk to stand in front of Louis, "Your mother is intending to come and all of your friends have been invited, minus your beach friends of course. Besides, I'll need you to formally renounce your title. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with the press and do damage control."

Nodding his head, Louis took his leave, passing Paul as he left the office.

"You can come in now." Simon called out to Paul.

"If I may say so, that did not go well." Paul stated as he walked into the room.

"Is this the way a prince should act?" Simon said, tossing the paper at Paul.

"Your Majesty, the boy at the beach was using him... the kiss was simply a way of getting his fifteen minutes of fame." Paul reasoned, seeing no fault on Louis' part other than a some carelessness.

"But why didn't he have enough common sense to deal with this." Simon sighed, staring at the paper.

"He's only fifteen, but today he acted beyond his years. He showed great respect for you and accepted your criticism." Paul replied, trying to make the king see reason.

"You're saying that as the King I was too harsh on him? That I was too critical of the person who could rule our country someday?" Simon asked, looking up at Paul with a quirked eyebrow.

"No. I'm saying as his grandfather, you might've been a bit too harsh on your grandson." Paul stated simply.

"Do you think he can do it?" Simon asked after a few minutes of silence and staring out the window.

"Oh. I have never had any doubts that he could." Paul answered honestly.

"I thought so too." Simon murmured, casting a long look at the paper again and shaking his head.

The media would forever be the bane of their existence. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey look! It's Prince Pucker-Up!" A boy called out as Louis walked by on his way to class Monday morning.

"Hey Prince, can you sign your picture? Justin did!" A girl called from a few feet away.

Sighing heavily, Louis ignored them and hurried past. All he wanted to do was find Niall and obviously nobody was going to help him do that so he was stuck searching the school for him. When he finally found him, he was out on the field, kicking a soccer ball around.

"Niall..." Louis called out, walking over to his friend. "Niall, can we talk? Please?"

The blonde ignored him in favor of kicking the ball at the net and running after it. He began traveling back down field towards the other net, passing Louis without a glance.

"Niall! Come on, please can we just talk for a minute!" Louis begged, jogging after him.

"Fine! You wanna talk, let's talk." Niall whipped around, glaring, "But about what, hmm? About how you broke my brother's heart or how about how you ditched me when I needed your help!"

"I'm sorry okay. I forgot to call you and tell you I wasn't going to make it." Louis responded, feeling guilty all over again.

"How could you forget!? I'm your best friend and you ditched me without a second thought for some dumbass that was just using you!" Niall yelled, giving Louis a rough shove before kicking the ball at the net angrily.

"Look, I came here to tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't come over and help you like I said I would and I'm just sorry. Okay?" Louis huffed out, wishing Niall would just let it go even though it was his own fault.

"I cannot believe you stood me up. After everything we've been through. I kept your royal secret, do you know how hard it is to keep a secret and be writing articles for the school newspaper?" Niall ranted, not really listening to Louis.

"Yeah well you didn't keep it a secret how jerky you thought I was being before you even knew what was going on!" Louis snapped back, "But hey! Congratulations, you got your wish for the old Louis to come back because I'm not going to be a Prince!"

"What?" Niall looked over at Louis, "You're not?"

"No. I'm not." Louis responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But... But I want you to be..." Niall spoke quietly and Louis gave him a look of disbelief, "Look... I was just jealous... you were suddenly Mr. Popular and I was upset, it felt like I was losing my best friend. Louis, most of the people in the school don't even pick up the newspaper... I want people to read what I write, but they don't care. You though, you being a prince is huge. You have the ability to change things because you have the power, as a Prince, to make people listen. That's a big deal."

"Well, we'll just have to find a different way to make a change." Louis sighed, "Anyways... tomorrow night is the Genovian Independence Day ball and I'm inviting you. I hope you'll come."

"Of course I'll come." Niall smiled, making grabby hands at his best friend, wanting a hug, "But I have no clue what to wear."

"Just wear a suit, I don't care, I'm just glad you're coming." Louis smiled into Niall's shoulder, "We better get to class."

"For the record, Lou, I think you'd make a great prince." Niall said seriously before releasing him.

"I don't think so." Louis shook his head, refusing to believe such nonsense, he'd already proven he wouldn't make a good prince.

"We'll just have to agree to disagree." Niall smiled as they walked back towards first period.

-_-

"Alright Louis. All you have to do his hit the ball, run the bases, and you pass. That's it." Coach Johnson explained from where she stood in front of him, "This isn't a championship game or anything, it's just gym class and I know you hate baseball, but you can do this."

"Sure." Louis gave her a tight smiled and got into position as she moved aside.

The pitcher tossed the ball and of course he misses.

"Strike one. It's fine Louis, just focus, you can do this." Coach Johnson encouraged him, refraining from rolling her eyes as she saw Justin waving for people to come in from the outfield and laughing.

Louis clutched the bat in his hands and glared at Justin for a moment before shifting his eyes back to the pitcher. His eyes locked onto the ball and he waited. This time, when he swings, the bat connects with the ball and it goes flying directly into Justin's dick, making the boy crumble to the ground.

"RUN! RUN LOUIS!" Coach Johnson yelled at him, waving for him to go.

Louis took off and easily ran the bases as Justin struggled to his feet and his classmates laughed at him. He couldn't help but chuckle and feel rather proud for nailing the asshole in the balls. He slid into home plate just before Coach Johnson caught the ball.

"SAFE! And you passed!" She smiled, tapping him on the arm with her gloved hand. "Good job, Louis."

Later that day Louis was sat in his mom's painting room, studying for his final test at school when there was a knock on the door.

"It's open!" Louis called out, glancing over when the door squeaked open and Liam walked in, "Liam. Hey."

"Hi." Liam greeted, walking over to Louis somewhat slowly.

"Did Niall tell you I called, because I called..." Louis wondered, noting Liam was having a hard time meeting his eyes.

"No, I haven't talked to him today." Liam shook his head then held up a set of keys, "I brought your car. We finished it up."

"Oh. Oh that's great, thanks." Louis smiled, taking the keys to the mustang. "I have your money, suppose I can go ahead and give that to you." He continued, grabbing the envelope out of his school bag and handing it over.

"Thanks. Mike said if you have any problems just give him a call." Liam informed him after accepting the envelope.

"Listen, thanks for doing this, it was really, really great of you to help me out." Louis began but surprisingly, Liam cut him off.

"I didn't do it for you. It's my job." Liam shrugged, even though he really did do it for Louis considering he had done some free labor.

"Right. Look, I know you're still mad about me blowing you off on Saturday and I shouldn't have done that. I'm really sorry." Louis spoke honestly, his eyes finally meeting Liam's. "I'm going to make it up to you."

"How?" Liam inquired curiously.

"Well, I'm still going to the Genovian Independence Day ball and I'm inviting you. I get to wear this insanely expensive tux and Niall's going to be there, he even has a date." Louis rambled, somewhat excited for the ball.

"Justin looks better in a tux I'm sure." Liam responded, sounding put out.

"Oh. Um, I kinda wanted you to be the one I shared it with." Louis replied quietly, "You don't even have to wear a tux, you can wear sweatpants for all I care!"

"Don't worry about me." Liam gave him a thin smile, "I just consider myself royally flushed."

With that, Liam walked out of the room and left the house. Louis stood there a bit stunned by Liam's sudden exit. He sighed heavily and looked at the keys he was still clutching in his hand. He had really screwed this up.

-_-

"Hey Lou." Niall greeted as Louis approached him at lunch time, "Here, I got you an ice cream cone, go sit next to Claire, I'll be right over."

Louis took the chocolate cone and walked over to where Claire was sitting on one of the concrete walls near the outdoor sitting area. There was never a table to sit at since the popular kids filled them up first, leaving others to either sit inside the smelly cafeteria or sit on the concrete walls outside. Almost as soon as he sits down Taylor and her shadows begin to laugh.

"Oh look, how sweet, the perfect nerd couple!" Taylor mocked, setting her hand over her heart as though she was touched. "Claire and Louis."

"Hey Claire, I was wondering, that sweater you're wearing, did you find it at the dump or did you knit it yourself but could only find the ugly colors?" One of Taylor's friends questioned, snickering at the sweater.

"Sunglasses girls, it's Claire hair glare!" Taylor laughed, dramatically putting on her sunglasses. "It looks like a glow stick blew up on her hair."

The three girls laughed loudly as they stood up to leave.

"Hey Taylor." Louis called out suddenly, standing up and walking over to them.

"Hm?" Taylor hummed, turning around to look at him expectantly.

"That is a really cute top." Louis smiled, gesturing at the white and pale blue cheer top.

"Of course it is." Taylor said, removing her sunglasses as she looked down at her top, admiring it.

"I bet it goes with anything." Louis continued then shoved his chocolate ice cream right against the white fabric.

"AHHH!" Taylor screeched, earning the attention of everyone around, including teachers. "You're such a freak Louis!"

"Yeah. Maybe I am. But you know what, I'll probably grow out of that." Louis responded, giving her a fake smile, "You however, you will never stop being a bitch. Bye."

Louis turned and walked back over to where Claire still sat, watching him in awe as he sat back down. People around them began to cheer "Taylor got coned" as others pointed and laughed at the angry cheerleader.

"Principal Massey! Did you see what he did!?" Taylor called out to the principal who was sitting at a table in the shade with some teachers.

"Oh, dear, no I'm so sorry, I was in a meeting. Send it for dry cleaning!" Principal Massey dismissed with a wave of her hand.

Louis glanced over at the teachers and saw all of them desperately trying to hide their smiles. He couldn't help but smile as Taylor stormed away, ranting about her top and Louis. Niall walked over a minute later, absolutely beaming.

"Can't believe you did that. She deserved it." Niall slapped Louis lightly on the back, "Nice one man."

The rest of the school day goes well. For once, not a single person messes with him.

-_-

Louis sat on the sofa at home, there was just a few more hours before the ball and he was meant to be getting ready but instead found himself talking to his grandfather.

"I wanted to give you this, an early birthday present." Simon said, handing him what appeared to be a diary. "It belonged to your father, we found it in his possessions."

"My birthday isn't for another few weeks though." Louis said, taking the gift.

"I know. But I'll be leaving for Genovia the day after tomorrow and I wanted you to have this before I left." Simon explained.

"Thank you." Louis smiled, running his finger over the fancy cover of the diary, noting with a small frown that it was locked.

"The necklace." Simon pointed to the item Louis wore around his neck, "It becomes the key."

"Thanks for bringing it here." Louis responded, happy to have something of his father's.

"Of course. I also wanted to apologize for how I reacted to the beach incident... I realize now that I should have gotten all the facts before I spoke to you... it was judgemental of me and an error on my part." Simon spoke as he stood up, preparing to leave, needing to get ready for the ball.

"That's alright grandpa." Louis smiled, putting a smile on the King's face at the term.

"Oh just so you know, Louis," Simon turned to face him, his hand on the door knob, "I've given it a great deal of thought and I truly believe you would make a fine Prince. You know, people think that prince's and princesses are supposed to just wear a crown or tiara, marry another royal, always look amazing, and live happily ever after... but it's so much more than that. It's a real job."

"I know. I just don't think I'm cut out for it." Louis sighed, standing up.

"Well, I suppose I can do nothing more than respect your decision. Make sure you're ready to go, I'll have Paul pick you up at seven, I've set the press conference for eight." Simon informed him.

"Oh, that won't be necessary, my mom wants to drive me... you know first ball or whatever." Louis lied to the older man.

"Very well. See you tonight." Simon nodded and headed out.

Louis shut and locked the door behind him. Picking up his dad's diary, Louis made his way up to his room. He set the book down on his dresser and stared at it.

"Sorry dad, but I'm not as strong as you, I can't be a prince." Louis spoke to the book, "I don't make speeches... I'm not Simon Cowell... and I just can't do it. Okay? I can't."

-_-

Jay and Dan had left for the ball. Louis had lied and told them Paul would be coming around to pick him up at seven and that they should just go on. They had left without a second thought. He was glad his mom had found someone that made her happy, even if it was his teacher, it would make what he was doing easier. Knowing she would have someone there for her, eased his mind.

-_-

"Paul? Aren't you supposed to be collecting Prince Louis?" Tara inquired, frowning when she saw Paul still at the consulate.

"Simon informed me that Prince Louis would be arriving with Jay and Daniel." Paul replied.

"Jay and Daniel just arrived, they said Louis was waiting on you." Tara informed him and Paul's eyes lit with realization.

"He's going to run."

-_-

"Come on Mittens, let's get you all packed up." Louis said, picking up the feline to place her in her cat carrier and noticing a folded pieces of paper on the floor where she had been laying. "What have you got there sweet girl?"

Placing Mittens in the carrier, Louis bent down and picked up the paper.

"We are so out of here little one. Mountains here we come." Louis spoke as he unfolded the paper and sat down on his bed to read it.

_My dear son,_

_Today is your sixteenth birthday. Congratulations. I present you with this diary to fill it's pages with your thoughts and all the things you want to remember about your wonderful life._

_It is custom in our family to pass on a piece of wisdom when one reaches this age. I pass it on to you just as my father passed it on to me._

_Louis, courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on, you will be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey._

_I loved your mother very much and I still think of her every day, as I think of you as well._

_Happy Birthday, my sweet Louis._

_All my Love,_

_Your Father_

Louis sat there and stared at the letter, reading it over and over again. This must've been written just weeks... maybe even days before his father died.

"Change of plans Mittens." Louis suddenly stood, opening the carrier so she could climb out, "I've got a ball to go to."

-_-

Walking to the door, Liam pulled it open and frowned as he was met with a pizza delivery guy.

"Hey man, here ya go, it's already paid for." The guy said handing him a pizza box.

"I didn't order a pizza..." Liam responded, taking the box.

The guy shrugged his shoulders, "Unless there's another Liam Payne living here... you call, we deliver. Have a nice night!"

With that the dude left, covering his head with his jacket as it began to rain. Sighing, Liam opened up the pizza box and quirked an eyebrow. In the center, written in what appeared to be M&M's was the word "SORRY".

Shaking his head, he chuckled and closed the lid. For a moment he stared up at the sky, the sun having vanished and the light from the porch reflecting on the rain coming down. Looking at his phone, he balked at the time and hurried inside. He had to get dressed and leave if he wanted to make it to the ball.

-_-

"Is there a problem?" Simon inquired, coming to a halt next to Tara who was looking around the room almost frantically.

"What? No. No there's no problem. Everything is wonderful." Tara responded, voice too tense and giving her away.

"You're a horrible liar, Tara." Simon shook his head.

"I know." Tara sighed in defeat.

"The garden looks wonderful though." Simon mentioned, happy with the results.

"Thank you your majesty." Tara smiled, relief flooding her voice.

Thirty minutes later the clock struck eight and there was still no sign of Louis or Paul. Tara made her way around the room, trying to locate the King. She finally spotted him talking to the prime minister and hurried over.

"Excuse me your majesty," She interrupted, "There's still no sign of Prince Louis or Paul. I tried Prince Louis' house but there was no answer, I also tried Paul's cell phone but the storm is interfering and we can't get through. The press is starting to complain about not making their deadlines as well."

"If they're not here in fifteen minutes I'll make the announcement." Simon sighed heavily, hoping Louis would show.

-_-

He hated the car. He hated the care with so much passion.

The convertible top wouldn't go up, leaving him to drive in the pouring rain with no protection. The car was sputtering for some reason, but it kept going. He had been so close when the car's engine finally died and he only just managed to pull off on the side of the road.

"Why! Why me!" Louis yelled up at the sky. "Is this punishment for driving without a license!?!"

He broke down into tears, thumping his head against the steering wheel. He had been trying to do the right thing and of course something would happen. Of course the car would die when he was just a few miles from the consulate. Nothing ever went right in his life, why would he expect this to.

His sobs were drowned out by the sound of the rain pouring down and the thunder booming above him through the night. He almost misses the sound of a car horn but he sees the light of a vehicle pulling up next to him. Looking up he saw Paul darting out of a limo with an umbrella and hurrying over to him.

"You wouldn't happen to be running away would you?" Paul yelled over the rain.

"Dressed like this?" Louis gestured to his sweatpants and hoodie, "Hell no, I'm going to a ball!"

-_-

"His Majesty, the King." A man introduced over the chatter in the room.

The room grew quiet and Simon made his way to the microphone. He scanned over the group of reporters and Genovians, giving just an extra moment to see if Louis would show, but he didn't see him.

"My fellow Genovians and honored guests..." He began, addressing everyone in the room. "I apologize for the delay, but welcome to our Genovian Independence Day ball."

The crowd before him applauded politely and the reporters snapped pictures. Simon didn't notice the small commotion going on near one of the entrance ways as he began to speak again.

"Again, thank you for your patience, I have an announcement to make, my grandson," Simon began but was cut off by someone clearing their throat.

His eyes darted over to the entrance way and he nearly breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes latched onto Louis.

"I would like to announce that my grandson has arrived." Simon continued, not looking away from him, "With a fascinating explanation as to his wardrobe, I'm sure."

Louis took a deep breath and made his way through the crowd. He tried desperately not to touch anyone since he was dripping wet and had had no time to change.

"Louis, would you like to say a few words?" The King questioned once he stood in front of him.

"Um... yes." Louis nodded, stepping up on the small stage, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

He looked out at the small crowd and felt a bit faint. His eyes met his mother's and she gave him a thumbs up before pointing towards the middle of the crowd. Looking over he found Niall and Claire smiling back at him, giving him encouraging thumbs up as well.

"Hello, I'm Louis..." He began, trying not to think about all the people staring at him, "I've really never been any good at speeches, they always terrified me." Louis continued, feeling more confident the more he spoke, remembering what his father said in his letter, "I'm not so afraid of them anymore thanks to my father. Earlier this evening, I had every intention of giving up my claim to the throne and my mother helped me by telling me that was okay and supporting me like she's always done. But, then I wondered how I would feel after renouncing my role as Prince of Genovia. Would I feel relieved? Would I feel sad? I realized how many times a day I use the word 'I' and I thought to myself, if I cared about the other seven billion people out there instead of just me, that would probably be a much better use of my time."

Louis paused and looked over at his grandfather who was still standing off to the side. Simon gave him a nod with a small smile, urging him to continue.

"If I were Prince of Genovia then my thoughts and the thoughts of those smarter than me would be much better heard and maybe those thoughts could be turned into actions." Louis took a breath and looked over the crowd, "This morning when I woke up, I was Louis Tomlinson, but now I choose to be forevermore, Louis William Tomlinson Cowell... Prince of Genovia."

The crowd began to clap and Louis smiled at everyone. His mother blew him a kiss, a proud smile on her face as Dan too beamed like a proud parent. Simon smiled where he stood, having hoped Louis would decide to accept his title. Turning, Simon took the simple crown that was offered to him on a poofy pillow.

"This was my very first crown." Simon said as he stepped up beside Louis with the simple gold crown with six short points.

"You had it all ready... How did you know I'd even be here?" Louis inquired as Simon placed the crown on his still wet head.

"Because I recognized the same spirit in you as your father and myself." Simon smiled, making sure the crown was on properly. "Now, let's get you cleaned up." He spoke again after a few pictures had been taken.

To Louis' surprise he was greeted by Mister Fletcher.

"Good heavens!" Mister Fletcher exclaimed, taking in Louis' appearance. "Come, come! We'll fix you up!"

Louis followed the man to a bathroom and allowed himself to be cleaned up and fixed up. By the time they were done, his hair was trimmed and styled, his fringe swept off to one side and his crown positioned perfectly on his head, looking like it was meant to be there. They had put a touch of makeup on him to conceal the darkness under his eyes and then tossed some chapstick at him to put on. With his hair completed, they ushered him into the bedroom where a maid had set out his suit and shoes.

Once he was ready, Simon led him to the ballroom where everyone was awaiting their arrival in a large circle.

"His Majesty, King Simon and His Royal Highness, Prince Louis." The man from before announced them.

Simon stepped into the circle first with Louis following close behind, dressed in a black suit that hugged him in all the right places, showing off his figure. Everyone watched as they came to stand in the middle of the circle. It was odd to see people bowing as he walked past them.

The music began to play and Simon held his hand out to Tricia, the prime minister's wife, beckoning her to dance. She accepted the offer with a small curtsy and placed her hand in his. Louis stood awkwardly in the middle of the dance floor as his grandfather danced and other couples began to join them. Looking around, he hoped to spot Liam in the crowd, though he had little hope that the boy had shown up. However, he caught sight of Niall and saw the blonde boy point to his left. Shifting his eyes, Louis couldn't help but smile as he saw Liam emerge from the crowd.

Still smiling, Louis motioned for Liam to bow since it was respectful and in turn Louis dipped his head at him before accepting his hand. Liam pulled him in, wrapping an arm around his waist as they began to dance. They danced through the first song and then headed out to the garden. The music and sound of people talking died down as the garden was empty.

"Why me?" Liam questioned, coming to a stop next to one of the fountains.

"Because, you saw me when I was invisible." Louis shrugged his shoulders and offered him a smile. "And I mean... just because I'm royal doesn't mean I'm any different. I mean I'll have to live in Genovia over the summer but I'll still go to school here and..."

"You talk way too much." Liam chuckled, cutting him off.

Before Louis could respond, Liam took his face in his hands and brought their lips together in a sweet kiss.

This was the first kiss he had dreamed about, Louis decided as he gripped Liam's arm. The kiss that made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. The kiss that made his knees weak. The kiss that simply felt perfect.

-_-

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is my first official day as Prince of Genovia. We'll be landing in Genovia soon and I'll be meeting parliament and the people before beginning my royal duties._

_Mom of course is coming to Genovia with me every summer until I graduate from college and will move here permanently when I do. She's going to be painting still, just without the water balloons. She's also maintaining her relationship with Mr. Deakin. I never thought I'd be happy about my mom dating my teacher, but she's happy and I really can't complain about that._

_Niall and Liam are spending their summer vacation here as well. They'll be staying in our - can you believe it - palace. They're even having my mustang brought over as soon as it's fixed. I'll be legally able to drive that in two weeks._

_Grandpa is thankful to be going home. I think he enjoyed his stay in the states, but I believe he misses his country; his home. And as always Paul is lingering nearby, always keeping watch over me, even though we're thirty thousand feet in the air._

_Everyone has pre-coronation jitters, especially me. Well, everyone except Mittens, she's adapted wonderfully to being a royal, perhaps she was one all along..._

_Sincerely,_

_Louis W, Tomlinson, Prince of Genovia_

"Prince Louis," Paul spoke, leaning over the back of Louis' seat, "Look out your window and welcome to Genovia."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the beginning of the second Princess Diaries movie.. Enjoy :)

_Dear Diary,_

_I am currently thirty thousand feet in the air on the Genovia One Jet. It's been a couple weeks since I've had a moment to sit down and write in you. Today, I graduated from college in California and I'm now headed back to Genovia where I will resume learning how to be a king from my grandfather._

_It's been awhile since I updated you on everyone hasn't it? Well, let me tell you, things have changed...._

_Almost six years ago I met my grandfather who turned out to be the King of Genovia and he informed me that I was the blood heir to the throne... making me a Prince._

_You remember that date my mom had with my teacher? Mr. Deakin? Well that's developed. They're now married and are expecting a baby together. Honestly, I couldn't be happier for her. They're moving to Genovia with me, not until later though, after the baby is born. Anyways, she's happy so I'm happy._

_How's Niall? He's doing just fine. He got accepted into a music program at a vocational school. He's pretty excited getting to study exactly what he wants to do. He's made me swear to keep my phone on me at all times, claiming he can't live without me. You'd think we were in love right? Well, that is definitely not the case.... he's simply my best friend and I couldn't ask for a better one._

_Which I guess brings us to Liam... we're still going strong. We became official on my sixteenth birthday and now I'm twenty-one. He wanted to further his education in music much like Niall but he also wanted to become a therapist. Thankfully, the college in California offered a wonderful study abroad program and he, of course, selected Genovia. He will be arriving a few days after us. I on the other hand was taking courses to give me more knowledge on things like political science... and you know... I'm learning how to become a ruler, so yeah. I love him a lot and I'm grateful to have him by my side._

_Anyways, we're getting close to Genovia I believe. Mittens has been snoozing in the seat beside me. She's taken rather well to being a royal... dare I say even better than I have._

_This year will be full of excitement I'm sure, but I'm also a bit nervous. At the end of this year, grandpa will be stepping down as King and I will be taking over since I am now twenty-one. I've learned a great deal from grandpa, but there's no course in 'King' or "How To Run A Country 101'. Grandpa of course is continuing to help me and I'll take over when he thinks I'm ready, of course I question whether I'll ever be ready._

_But for now, I'm going to live in a beautiful palace like in a fairytale and eventually sit on the throne and rule the people of Genovia. Is that scary or what?_

_Sincerely,_

_Louis._

_-_-_

"Prince Louis, if you'll look out your window we are about to begin our descent." Paul said, leaning over the back of the seat. "And welcome home to Genovia."

Leaning over, Louis peered out the window of the plane. The palace was in plain view, standing tall and proud among the green grass and hilly terrain that made up Genovia. He'd come to love the place he now called home.

It had been an adjustment at first, during the summers when he came to live with Simon so he could continue his prince lessons. The people were different. He didn't experience the same harsh judgements in Genovia as he had experienced in California. The people were relatively calm and happy in general. Though... maybe it has something to do with the fact that it had been announced already that the Prince from America had returned to Genovia.

It's a lot to take in still... the rolling hills covered in lush, green grass, all of the flowers and trees... it was so different from the concrete jungle he had lived in before. He enjoyed it thoroughly whenever he had a bit of free time. His grandfather had taken him around in one of the cars kept at the palace, pointing out different things as Paul drove them along. By the end of his first week in Genovia, Louis had decided he could easily get used to calling this place his home. Of course, the next time Liam had come to visit, Louis had promptly set up a car to take them sightseeing, showing Liam what he had come to love.

It definitely wasn't all fun and games, no matter how fun and interesting his grandfather tried to make his prince lessons.

Tonight for example, he would be required to meet all the members of parliament and dance with any royal attending his birthday party that requested a dance from him. Apparently, it is customary. It's not exactly what he has in mind for celebrating his twenty first birthday, but Simon insisted upon having the birthday ball as it was customary. So Louis had no option but to agree and tomorrow night he would be stepping into the ballroom at the palace, suit on and crown sitting on his head.

-_-

"The king is coming!" Tara said, rushing down the hallway towards the doors to the ballroom, "Look alive people. He'll have a double door entrance." She informed the doormen.

Just as the last word left her mouth, King Simon came walking down the hall. He smiled at them, holding out his hands as he did a single turn, showing his outfit (an expensive suit as always).

"Well?" Simon asked, much lighter with his staff these days.

"Perfection as always your Majesty." Paul chuckled, motioning him to the doors, "You're late."

"The king is never late, Paul, everyone else is simply early." Simon smiled, but nevertheless stepped up to the doors.

"His Majesty, Simon Cowell, King of Genovia!" The royal crier announced, thumping his silver staff on the floor to gain everyone's attention.

Simon entered the room as the double doors were pulled open and greeted everyone. He waved for a moment, coming to a stop in front of everyone.

"Greetings! I am delighted to welcome you here this evening." Simon spoke to the party guests. "Many of you will remember Queen Aliza's and my grandson, Prince Louis. Will you please raise your glasses in celebration of Prince Louis' twenty-first birthday."

"His Royal Highness, Louis William Tomlinson Cowell, Prince of Genovia." The royal crier announced, thumping his staff twice as before.

The doors on the platform entrance atop the dual staircase were pulled open and Louis stepped out. He stepped up to the railing and waved at the people below.

"To Prince Louis!" Simon smiled, lifting his glass of champagne.

"To Prince Louis!" Everyone called out together, lifting their glasses as well.

-_-

He can't tell you any of their names. All he can tell you is they have, so far, all been horrible dancers. Louis doesn't consider himself a good dancer by any means really, but he does know that being jerked around at a ball is not proper dancing. A duke from some place had swung him out so quickly he nearly crashed into one of the servers, while a Lord from somewhere else tried to make him 'shimmy shimmy', successfully making Louis' face turn cherry red in front of all those watching with curious, humored, or concerned eyes.

Eventually he managed to break away from everyone and slide up to the dessert table. He had heard a few people talking about him, saying he wasn't friendly and calling him rather rude. It had bummed him out, he'd never been called rude before. Glancing around he took one of the small forks and forked up some of the frosting on one of the cakes before shoving it into his mouth. He hummed happily at the sweetness, fully prepared to enjoy his moment of peace when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"I saw that." The female voice said causing Louis to turn around quickly, dropping the spoon on the table.

"Stella!" Louis exclaimed, trying to keep his voice low so he didn't draw attention to himself. "I missed you!"

The princess laughed and hugged Louis tight around his shoulders.

"I've missed you too! It's good to be back, you've gotten taller!" Stella smiled brightly, holding up her long dress off the floor so she could walk alongside Louis.

"How have you been?" Louis questioned as they moved around people, trying to keep out of the way of the ones dancing so they didn't get hit.

"Quite well, just partying, you know." Stella replied, and Louis knew it was far from the truth but she liked to dream.

He was about to reply when he suddenly collided with someone, stepping on their foot. Instantly he reached for the person to stabilize them both.

"Oh my gosh, your foot! I'm so sorry! Are.." Louis looked up and his words caught in his throat as his eyes met emerald green ones, "Are you okay?"

"I'll survive, Your Highness." The man replied, bowing slightly, "The fault was entirely mine, I apologize."

Louis bit his lip and said the first thing that came to his mind, "Are you sure you don't want to exchange licenses and proof of insurance?"

Which... what? Of all the things he could've said, that's what comes out of his mouth. He can see Stella out of the corner of his eye with her hand placed over her mouth, clearly hiding a smile as she watched the exchange.

"No, no that's quite alright. I've got two left feet and am about as graceful as a giraffe." The man laughed softly, eyes shining bright, "Excuse me, your highness."

The man bowed slightly and then headed off. Louis huffed and turned to look at Stella who was giggling behind her hand.

"He's quite handsome." Stella smiled as they continued their walk off to the side of the dance floor.

"And I'm happily in a relationship, still." Louis informed her, "But yes, he was handsome."

"How is Liam doing?" The Princess inquired curiously.

"He's well, he'll be joining us in a few days. He had to tie up some loose ends back in California and finish packing. I miss him, I can't wait for him to arrive." Louis responded, a smile immediately gracing his lips as he spoke of his boyfriend.

"You two are so cute. You absolutely light up when you talk about him." Stella spoke softly, giving him a gentle nudge.

"Yes, well." Louis shrugged, blushing slightly and holding back a sigh when another princess stepped in front of him wanting to dance.

He bid Stella farewell and took the princess's hand, leading her out onto the dancefloor. She was by far the best dancer of all the people he had danced with so far. She moved gracefully and for once his feet weren't stepped on. They danced for a few minutes before a duke approached them, wanting to cut in. The princess bowed out and allowed the duke to take her place.

He was a horrible dancer.

Louis of course was stuck dancing with the man until someone else cut in or the song ended. Thankfully, it's only a minute before someone does cut in, the man from earlier that Louis had collided with.

"Thank you." Louis sighed, accepting the man's hand, placing his other on the man's shoulder.

"You're welcome your highness." The man smiled beautifully at him.

"Louis, I like to be called Louis." Louis said, truly not liking when people only referred to him as 'your highness' though it was proper. "And you are?"

"Harry." The man answered, "Just Harry."

"Well, I'm glad to see my clumsiness hasn't affected your dancing, I thought you said you had two left feet?" Louis teased lightly, which sounded a lot like flirting.

"Perhaps I just needed the right partner." Harry replied, flirting right back.

Louis couldn't keep the blush off of his cheeks. His mind was screaming at him. He had a boyfriend, one he loved very much. This stranger shouldn't have such an effect on him. He refused to let this Harry fellow have an effect on him. It was just a dance. It meant nothing.

Soon enough a princess cut in and Harry stepped away, thanking Louis for the dance. Louis danced with the princess until the song ended and then excused himself. He stood on the sidelines, watching everyone dance when Tara approached him.

"Prince Louis, there's someone from parliament you should meet." She informed him.

"Tara, how many more members of parliament are there?" Louis sighed heavily, tired of meeting all these people that he couldn't remember the names of.

"Just two more." Tara laughed lightly.

"Cake?" A waiter offered them.

"No thank you." Louis answered and turned to walk over to where Tara had pointed him just as another waiter was walking past.

The tray the waiter was carrying connected with Louis' crown, sending it tumbling off and making Louis give a shout of surprise, causing those around them to gasp in horror.

"Your highness!" The waiter went pale, "I am so sorry! It was an accident!"

"It's fine. Everything is fine. No harm done." Louis assured the petrified waiter with a soft smile.

Turning to locate his crown, he found it in the hands of a tall man standing behind him.

"You should be more careful with this your royal highness." The man commented, placing the crown back on Louis' head, "Someone could try an take it from you."

"Oh, well I hope not." Louis chuckled weakly, reaching up to straighten the crown, "Thank you so much for your help."

The man gave a short nod and watched as the Prince made his way across the ballroom.

"Someone like me." He spoke under his breath and then turned away.

-_-

The next day Louis found himself lounging in the library. His grandfather had left for a meeting with parliament and Louis had remained in the library, where they had been having another princess lesson, reading a book. The sound of shoes draws his attention from his book.

"Oh!" A female voice squeaked.

"Hello." Louis smile at the girl around his age now standing in the room.

"I'm sorry your highness, I thought the room was empty, I passed his Majesty in the hall." The girl spoke with a curtsy.

"It's fine," Louis replied, marking his book and unfolding his legs to stand up, "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Sandy." The girl replied just as another female came scurrying into the room, nearly bumping into her. "And this is Rosie."

"Alright then, Sandy and Rosie, I'm Louis." Louis introduced himself knowing these girls were new since he'd never seen them around the palace before.

Before the two girls could say anything, Tara came walking in with a clipboard in her hands and an earpiece in her ear so she could keep in contact with others in the palace.

"Ah, Sandy and Rosie, go ahead and clean up the library." Tara ordered and the two hurried to do so after curtsying at Louis again. "The King will meet you in one hour in the throne room, Prince Louis. I'm sorry your suite isn't ready yet, but you're welcome to go to his Majesty's suite if you'd like."

"No, no that's alright, Tara." Louis shook his head, "Is it alright if I explore the palace a bit?"

"Of course." Tara nodded, then glanced at her watch, "I have to run, remember the throne room in an hour."

-_-

***Parliament Meeting***

"The parliament of Genovia is now in session. Prime Minister Mace presiding. Viscount Conway, you have the floor."

"As we all know, the twenty-first birthday of an heir to the Genovian bloodline is indeed a matter of great public importance." Viscount Conway spoke, standing in front of everyone. "It signifies that a young person is eligible to assume the throne."

"Yes, we are all aware of this Viscount. The King has already indicated that Prince Louis will learn more at his side before assuming the throne." Derick Grey, a member of parliament spoke.

"It wasn't Prince Louis I was referring to." Viscount Conway sneered at the other man. "King Edward was the great, great, great grandfather of Desmond Styles. So, as of his twenty-first birthday last year, another Genovian of the royal bloodline became eligible for the throne."

-_-

***Louis Exploring The Palace***

Louis walked around the palace with a mug of tea clutched in his hand. Every time he passed somebody in the large hallways who wasn't a guard they would bow at him. He still wasn't used to it and probably would never get used to it. He didn't feel like he was above these people and yet they acted as though he was.

Eventually he came across a large tapestry on one of the walls. As a maid passed by it, it moved, revealing a sliver of what appeared to be a hidden entrance. With his curiosity peaked, Louis glanced around to make sure nobody was around before slipping behind the tapestry and into the small walkway. He crept along, following the hidden passage until it came to a dead end. Frowning, he looked around and noticed a small metal flap on one of the walls. Walking over, he opened it carefully and his eyes widened as he saw his grandfather and what was obviously the members of parliament all sitting in a room, talking. Talking specifically about him and the Genovian bloodline. He's there just in time to see the man that helped him at the party speaking and his eyes go wide at what he hears.

"As of his twenty-first birthday, another Genovian of the royal bloodline became eligible for the throne."

-_-

***With Parliament***

"My nephew, Lord Styles."

"I beg your pardon?" King Simon looked down at the man standing before him.

"Though the family has not ruled for quite some time, they are still of the royal bloodline. My wife's sister married Desmond and upon being born, my nephew became an heir to the throne. And I am pleased to say your majesty, that he is ready to assume his place as the rightful king." Viscount Conway offered the king a small bow of his head.

"What?!" King Simon question, trying to control his anger.

"Isn't Prince Louis first in line to assume the throne?" Frost, another parliament member inquired.

"No yet he isn't." Grey spoke from his seat again, "The law states that an heir must be married before they can take the throne."

"We have never enforced that law!" Simon cut in as other parliament members looked between the Viscount, the King, and Grey, feeling the tension in the room.

"Genovia shall not have a new ruler lest they be married." Lord Crawley announced, suddenly speaking up.

"Lord Crawley?" King Simon questioned in disbelief, "This is the twenty-first century... surely that rule should not still apply."

"That is the law of Genovia and has been for three hundred years. Prince Louis is not qualified to rule because he is unwed." Lord Crawley replied, leaving no room for argument. "Forgive me, your Majesty, but not all of us believe the Prince is the most suitable choice to be our next ruler."

You could hear a pin drop in the room as the older man spoke. No one dare speak as the king stared in disbelief and what appeared to be anger at the Lord.

"Alright, alright. Before this gets out of hand." Grey cut in before either the King or Lord Crawley get make another comment, "I suggest we allow Prince Louis... one year... during which he must marry or he forfeits the throne to young Lord Styles, should he as well be married at that time. As far as I am aware, he is not, am I correct?"

"No. He is not. However, my nephew understands the importance of the matter and he would have no problem finding a suitable spouse to rule by his side." Viscount Conway answered. "Also, I object! I object strongly! A year?"

"Thirty days!" A member called out.

"Two months!" Another exclaimed.

"Six months." Lord Crawley spoke over everyone in a booming voice. "Prince Louis shall have six months to find a suitable spouse and get married or he forfeits the throne."


	7. Chapter 7

"How could they expect me to fall in love and get married in six months?" Louis ranted as he paced before his grandfather in the throne room. "It's like their way of forcing me to have an arranged marriage! Oh gosh... that's it isn't it? An arranged marriage is really the only option. Who agrees to an arranged marriage!?" He pauses and looks over at Simon who simply smiled at him, "Well... you did..."

"I did." Simon agreed with a nod, "It worked out quite well... we grew very fond of each other, your grandmother and I."

"I'm sure grandpa, but I dream of love... not fondness." Louis sighed heavily, leaning up against one of the walls.

"You don't have to do this Louis." Simon stated, noting his grandson's sad demeanor. "You don't have to become king."

"So unfair." Louis whispered, staring over at his father's and uncle's portrait on the wall

He hears his father's voice so clear in his head in that moment, the very words his father had written him in the letter years ago.

_Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear._

"There are five hundred and fifty years of Cowell's on these walls..." Louis began, pushing off the wall and looking around at the generations of his family, "And I will be up there next to my father. I'm sure I want my chance to make a difference as a ruler."

Simon stared at him with a proud smile on his face, "Spoken like a true king."

-_-

***Viscount Conway & Lord Styles***

"I don't think any of them expect Prince Louis to succeed." Viscount Conway told his nephew as he entered their home. "You, my boy, are a true-born Genovian, you should be our king... not somebody who didn't even know they were royal."

"I agree." Lord Styles nodded, strapping on his boxing gloves, getting ready to work out. "But, how can we make it happen?"

"Oh come now Harry." Viscount Conway smiled, "Surely you and your good looks can figure that out..."

-_-

***Back at the Palace***

"Your Majesty, Lord Styles and his uncle will be arriving soon." Tara informed the king as she entered the room with a huff. "Also, Paul has arrived."

"Good, send him in." Simon responded, messing with some papers on his desk.

Tara hurried off, not the least but happy about having to welcome Lord Styles and his crafty uncle to the palace. She sent Paul in on her way out, casting only a brief glance at the eighteen year old following him.

"Your Majesty." Paul greeted, motioning for the boy following him to stay put as his approached the king, "I know Zander is the prime minister's son and he's interning here because he wants to learn about security, but he sticks to me like velcro... he won't leave my side."

Simon couldn't help but chuckled at the other man's perplexed expression.

"No worries Paul, he returns to school in the fall." Simon dismissed his head of security. "He'll be gone before you know it. Now, I need to get going, I'm sure the Viscount and his nephew are pulling in."

"Of course." Paul dipped his head and stepped aside for the king to pass by him.

With a deep breath, Paul motioned for Zander to follow.

"Eagle is heading to the entrance." Paul spoke into his headpiece to alert the other security guards.

"The Sparrow is heading up as well." A voice replied a moment later, meaning Louis was on his way to where they would welcome their visitors.

Louis was already standing in the foyer when Simon, Paul, and Zander arrived. He was the furthest thing from happy. As immature as it may have been, ever since he had found out about parliament inviting the Viscount's snake of a nephew to the palace, he had been in a foul mood, casting tiny glares at his grandfather who apparently did nothing to stop it.

"Is this acceptable for welcoming these people?" Louis inquired sassily, doing a little circle to show his outfit.

"Yes Louis. Handsome as ever." Simon nodded in approval of the simple suit Louis had selected.

"I still cannot believe parliament invited the guy who's trying to steal the throne to stay here at the palace." Louis huffed as he slouched down in a nearby chair.

"Honestly, Louis, sit up straight." Simon rolled his eyes, something he very rarely did, "And parliament didn't invite him. I did."

"What!?" Louis hopped out of the seat in disbelief. "Why would you do that!?"

"I suggested we hang him by his toes in the courtyard." Paul shrugged and then excused himself.

"Yeah! What about Paul's idea! I'm down with that." Louis looked back over at his grandfather who simply shook his head.

"If there is any funny business going on I want it right under my nose. This way I can keep an eye on things." Simon explained.

"You're forcing me to be nice to this guy... I mean he's rude, arrogant, self-centered..." Louis listed off as he began to pace.

"Have you met him?" Simon questioned with a quiet chuckle.

"Psh... no." Louis muttered just as the doors began to open, signalling the arrival of the Viscount and Lord.

"Louis, I'm not playing here." The King spoke, looking at him sternly all of a sudden. "We will present ourselves with grace and poise. I am the King and you are a Prince, this isn't high school."

Louis heaved a sigh but straightened up and took his place next to his grandfather.

"Announcing Viscount Conway and his nephew, Lord Styles." The royal crier spoke just as two men walked through the doors.

Instantly Louis' expression falters. Behind the semi out of shape man that just walked in there is a tall man with curly brown hair just touching the nape of his neck, his hands clasped behind his back. And Louis takes it back... he has indeed met Lord Styles.

"Your Majesty." Viscount Conway greeted, bowing to the king then looking at Louis, "Your highness."

"Conway." Simon responded with a nod of his head.

"May I introduce my nephew, Lord Harry Styles." Viscount Conway introduced, gesturing to the man behind him.

"Harry, it's a delight to meet you." Simon spoke, shaking his hand curtly.

"Your Majesty," Harry dipped his head, "The pleasure is all mine. And thank you for inviting me to stay at the palace, it's an honor."

Simon only smiled slightly then motioned to Louis, "May I present my grandson, Louis."

"Your Highness." Harry bowed after taking a step back.

Louis remained silent, looking away from the man he had danced with at the ball. The very one he had maybe flirted with just a tiny bit which had caused him to toss and turn that night because he had a boyfriend and he felt guilty.

"Louis, would you care to welcome our guest?" Simon inquired though it registered as a demand as he reached out and touched his grandson's elbow just slightly.

Turning to face Harry, Louis took a step forward, extending his hand to be shaken with a glint in his eye.

" _Lord_  Harry." Louis spoke, giving the taller man a half smirk, half smile before promptly stomping down on his foot.

Harry grunted in pain as the prince turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the room. Off to the side he heard the snicker of one of the guards, a young one, no doubt an intern, as he made his way over to a chair.

"I will personally go get some ice for that." Simon spoke, ears turning red at his grandson's behavior.

The king left the room, marching down the hall in search of the prince. He finds him in the kitchen with a pint of cookie dough ice cream in his hand and Mitten's perched on his lap, begging for some.

"Would you care to explain yourself?" Simon inquired, anger and embarrassment written all over his face.

"Oh. Well, turns out I have met Lord Harry." Louis answered, plopping some ice cream into his mouth before shooing Mitten's onto the table where the chef had placed a dish with a little vanilla ice cream for her. "At the ball actually. So you know, we danced. Didn't know who he was though, only that his name was Harry. And... I might've flirted a tiny bit for some stupid reason."

"I see." Simon hummed, sitting down at the table. "Well, as the king, I cannot condone it. It was incredibly immature of you. As your grandfather, however, I say right on."

Louis offered his grandfather a grateful smile, seeing that he wasn't as angry with him now. Picking up an extra spoon, Louis handed it over to Simon and held out the pint of ice cream. Pursing his lips, Simon studied the ice cream that Louis favored above all others. He'd never tried it... it honestly didn't sound that good to him... but why not?

Taking the spoon, Simon dipped it into the vanilla ice cream that was filled with chunks of cookie dough and spooned out some. Louis quirked an eyebrow as the King popped it into his mouth.

"It's not bad." Simon finally spoke after swallowing the bite. "I expected it to be quite gross honestly."

"It's the best." Louis smiled happily, going in for another bite.

"Louis, I have something I'd like to show you." Simon spoke up after a few moments of silence, standing up, "Leave the ice cream."

Instead of returning to Lord Harry with some ice, Simon led Louis through the palace and over to where Louis' suite had been in the process of being remodeled.

"The renovations to your suite are finally complete. It should have been done when you arrived, but there were apparently some issues." Simon informed him, stopping in front of some double doors, "This, is your suite."

Stepping aside, Simon allowed Louis to open the doors and enter the small entryway to his suite. Louis' eyes grew wide as he walked in, taking in how homey and simple everything was, just like he had wanted. The large room was a light grey color with soft blue accents all around. The plush, four poster, California king bed was dressed with a blue comforter and tons of pillows that Louis wanted to curl up in and snooze. There was a sitting area with two sofa's and a coffee table sitting between them, all on top of a plush rug. A television was mounted on the wall above the fireplace and on the exterior wall there were four large windows overlooking the garden, draped with the finest fabrics.

"This is mine?" Louis inquired, turning to look at his grandfather who was waiting patiently for his comment.

"Every bit of it." Simon nodded, "There's also a bathroom right through that door, but I think you'll find this one more interesting."

Walking over to where Simon was now standing, Louis took the remote that he held out to him and pressed the first button. The wall, slid back revealing a huge closet.

"Oh wow." Louis spoke, staring at the insane size.

"Everything you need is in here." Simon explained, walking into the closet. "Shoes, clothes, sunglasses... everything. And if you'll press the code 6823 on the remote..."

Louis did as he was told and a drawer opened up towards the back of the closet. Walking over, Louis stared into the drawer with wide eyes.

"These are your rings, cufflinks, and your two crowns." Simon said, gesturing to the items. "Oh, and before I forget, you should check out the door over there." He gestured behind them.

Moving to the other side of the closet, Louis pulled open the door to reveal more clothes. Turning around, he quirked an eyebrow in question but Simon merely shrugged. It takes a lot for him not to smile at the two people emerging from the closet. The one reached out and jabbed his fingers into Louis' sides, making the Prince give a startled yell and whip around.

"NIALL!" Louis exclaimed, hugging his best friend tightly, "When did you get here? I thought you were arriving in two days!"

"We finished up early and your grandfather got our flights changed so we could surprise you." Niall explained, beaming at Louis. "Li has been out of his mind, he jumped at the chance to come early."

At the mention of his boyfriend, Louis turned and found the just taller man smiling at him. He's still all puppy brown eyes and short hair, but he's a bit more built now.

"Li." Louis smiled softly and threw himself at his boyfriend.

Liam catches him easily and lifts him off the ground as they embrace, his face buried in Louis' neck. Pulling away after a moment, Louis cupped Liam's face in his hands and kissed him fiercely. They hadn't been apart very long, less than a week, but with everything going on, Louis had missed him something awful.

"Alright! Alright!" Niall huffed, crossing his arms, "Let's not forget about the other two people in the room!"

Blushing, Louis pulled away and Liam set him back on his feet.

"I missed you." Louis spoke, cuddling close to his boyfriend.

"I missed you too." Liam smiled, all too happy to hold Louis closer.

"Oh, before I forget..." Louis suddenly remembered parliament's decision about him getting married, "We need to talk... it's really important."

"Okay." Liam nodded, face taking on a more serious expression. "You're not...?"

"No. I'm not." Louis shook his head firmly then turned to Niall, "Niall, if you want to grab something to eat Rosie can show you to the kitchen."

"I'm down with that." Niall replied, walking over to the maid that had stepped into the closet.

"Louis, let me know." Simon spoke, clasping a hand on his shoulder briefly before exiting the room as well.

"So..." Liam started, following Louis out of the closet and over to the sofa. "What did you want to talk about."

"I need you to not freak out about this, okay?" Louis requested, taking Liam's hand and playing with his fingers in his lap. "Like, it's really big and important and I just need you to not freak out... I'm already doing enough of it."

"Hey... whatever it is Lou, we can get through it." Liam moved closer, looking Louis in the eyes. "Tell me what's going on."

"There was a meeting today with parliament and my grandpa. Viscount Conway brought it to everyone's attention that his nephew, who turned twenty-one last year and is now twenty-two, is part of the royal bloodline... which means he's eligible for the throne." Louis explained, grasping his boyfriend's hand a little tighter. "I'm first in line of course. However, there is a problem and of course it was brought up during the meeting. The law here states that one cannot take the throne and rule without being married. I, obviously, am not married which means I'm not eligible to take the throne. Grandpa tried to get them to overlook the law but the simply wouldn't do it. They've given me six months to wed or forfeit the throne."

Liam was at a loss for words. He stared at his boyfriend in shock. They had only given Louis six months to get married or else he would have to forfeit the crown. Now he could see why Louis' eyes had been so invaded with worry despite being so happy to see him. It was clear that this was stressing Louis out and obviously why he was so nervous to tell Liam about it.

"I don't want you to be put in an awkward position, Li, but I had to tell you... this is something that isn't going away no matter how hard we try." Louis sighed heavily.

"We've never really talked about marriage." Liam finally spoke, placing his other hand on top of Louis'. "I assume your grandfather is wanting to know whether or not we are going to get married?"

"Yeah, he is." Louis nodded, his voice quiet. "I don't want to force you into this, Li."

"You're not forcing me into anything. If we choose to wed, it's because we decide to, not because you forced me to. We've been dating five years now... and I love you, you know I love you." Liam responded, squeezing their hands together.

"I love you too." Louis smiled resting his head on Liam's shoulder. "Just think on it and let me know"

"Alright, I will. We'll get through it, Lou." Liam pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's feathery hair.

-_-

_"We're here at the beach observing as Prince Louis and boyfriend of five years, Liam, take a stroll. They're accompanied by the King as well as their guards and also Niall, who we know is Prince Louis best friend and Liam's brother. We're wondering if this public outing is leading up to something... perhaps a royal engagement?"_

"They drive you kinda crazy don't they?" Louis questioned as they walked down the beach a week after Liam and Niall arrived, holding Liam's hand and waving at the reporters with the other.

"They follow you everywhere... not that I didn't already know that." Liam responded, lifting his own free hand to wave. "It just seems to have gotten worse."

"I think word has reached the media about me needing to be married or else I can't take the throne. Harry's apparently willing to marry just to be eligible to rule. His uncle made it quite clear Lord Styles would wed with no issue to fulfil his duty to his country." Louis spoke with an edge to his voice, almost mocking. "Like so sorry if I have always dreamed of marrying someone I love instead of marrying just to rule. I know my grandfather did it, but I'm not him."

"Of course you aren't, Lou." Liam replied, squeezing his hand, "It's perfectly fine that that's what you want. You just need to do what makes you happy."

"Well, being with you makes me happy so we're all good for now." Louis offered him a smile then turned his eyes to the water, watching the waves roll in.

Another week passed and the whole marriage thing had not been brought up by anyone except Louis and Simon between each other. The King worried about the future of the kingdom, not wanting another family to take it over and just overall concerned for the people. Louis thought often of the law, requiring him to wed before being able to take the throne. It seemed horrible. He had no interest in marrying for anything other than love. However, how could he give up the kingdom? After all the training he had done, all building up to the moment where he would accept the crown and become king... How could he give that up?

"Louis, I know you don't want to rush him, but a decision must be made." Simon told him as they sat at breakfast, "Six months may seem like a long period of time, but it goes by very quickly. Nearly a month has already passed."

"I know grandpa." Louis sighed heavily, pushing around the eggs on his plate. "I just don't want to pressure him. I want him to want to marry me, I don't want him to feel like he has to... he's not obligated to. Honestly, I'm surprised they're letting me even consider somebody who isn't royalty."

"They've approved him already. Even a royal they would look into them... make sure they are fit to help govern our people." Simon explained briefly, "Liam is a smart man, they know he is intelligent and could be good at your side."

"I suppose that's good news. Now we just have to wait for him to decide." Louis responded, picking up another piece of bacon to munch on.

"Good morning." Harry greeted, suddenly appearing in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Harry." Simon responded, giving him a curt nod.

"Morning." Louis muttered, eyes trained on his breakfast.

Over the past three weeks, Harry had been living in the palace. He was staying in the guest wing but seemed to only go there to sleep. His mission, apparently, was to hunt down Louis, trying to catch him alone. Why? Harry claimed he wanted to get to know Louis, stating if the prince was to be the next king he wanted to know the person that would be ruling the kingdom. Bullshit. Louis had dubbed that one hundred percent bullshit.

He felt as though he was being watched. Everywhere he went Harry showed up not long after. Of course, Louis wasn't always on his own when they ran into each other. He tried almost desperately to keep Liam with him at all times, forming something of a barrier between himself and Lord Styles. The first time Liam had come across Harry, he'd introduced himself as he would to any other stranger, always happy to make new friends and not realizing who exactly he was talking to.

_* **FLASHBACK** *_

_"Excuse me." Liam said, nearly running into a tall man rounding a corner in the palace._

_"Sorry." The man responded, moving out of the way, "I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?"_

_"Oh no. I'm Liam, Liam Payne." Liam stuck out his hand, "Louis' boyfriend."_

_"Ah!" The man voiced, lifting his hand to shake Liam's._

_Before he can grasp his hand, a softer voice cut into the moment._

_"Lord Styles." Louis appeared next to Liam, curling a hand around his boyfriend's bicep._

_Liam's mouth forms a perfect 'O' as he realized who he was talking to and slowly dropped his hand. He couldn't make friends with the person trying to steal the throne. That hardly seemed right._

_"What a pleasure running into you. I hate to break up this moment, but I'll be needing Liam." Louis said, giving Liam's arm a gentle tug._

_"Of course your highness." Harry bowed slightly to him, "Wonderful to see you as well. Lovely meeting you Liam, good luck."_

_With that, Harry brushed passed them, making sure to catch the prince's eye as he went._

_"Good luck." Louis muttered under his breath, "What did he mean by that?"_

_"I'm sure he didn't mean anything..." Liam tried to reassure him. "I didn't recognize him... I wouldn't have..."_

_"No, it's fine, Li, really." Louis cut him off, shaking his head. "I'm not going to tell you who to be friends with, it's just he's the person trying to take the crown... they're a shady family, it's probably not one you want to get involved with in any way. I'm just trying to look out for you."_

_"Thanks boo." Liam smiled, wrapping his arm around Louis' waist._

_***END FLASHBACK*** _

From that point on, Liam mostly avoided Harry. He was civil to him, he had no real reason not to be. The older man was kind and everyone in the palace got along with him. Everyone except Louis, who even with the kings encouragement, still didn't want anything to do with Harry. All he could see was a man trying to steal the crown that would've belonged to his father had he not died. Therefore, Louis basically dubbed Harry the enemy and wouldn't have anything to do with him. That crown would be his. He would not let his father down.

"Lou?" Liam knocked on the open door to the prince's suite.

"Come in." Louis called back, smiling when he saw Liam, "You don't have to knock you know."

"Wasn't sure what you might be doing." Liam shrugged coming over to sit on the sofa next to Louis who was reading over some papers. "Work?"

"Mhmm. Grandfather told me to look through these... they're royals." Louis explained, showing him a picture with details below of who the person was. "He said though we are talking about getting engaged, he wants me to go ahead a run through some people just in case we decide to not proceed with the engagement."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Liam responded, taking the pictures out of Louis' hand.

"Oh?" Louis turned to face him, giving him his full attention.

"I say, let's do it! Let's get engaged. It's sooner than we perhaps wanted, but..." Liam shrugged, taking Louis' hand, "This way you get your crown."

"Really? You're absolutely sure, Li?" Louis inquired, grasping the other man's hand. "I don't want you to do this if you don't want to. It's going to be a lot of work... you're going to have to start lessons, learning how to act and such... basically everything I did."

"I'm sure." Liam nodded his head, "How hard can it be?"

Louis doesn't say anything then and maybe he should have, but his boyfriend had no idea what he was getting into. Sure, he had heard Louis talk about some of the stuff he had to learn and do, but it didn't seem to really sink in that it truly became your life. Instead of saying anything though, he rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder with a small smile on his face. He now had a fiance and once they wed, he would be eligible for the throne.

They stayed there for a while longer, neither realizing their conversation had been overheard.


End file.
